ALCOA PLANS TO LOBBY IN THE UNITED STATES TO PREVENT IMPORTS OF RUSSIAN ALUMINUM

Alcoa wants to avoid aluminum imports from Russia at all costs and plans to lobby in the United States. In addition, the multinational is demanding sanctions on Russian aluminum from Joe Biden’s administration as part of the battery of punitive measures for the invasion of Ukraine.

Alcoa cut its purchases from Russian suppliers as early as last March, weeks after the invasion of Ukraine was consummated. If implemented, the White House would put the world’s second largest aluminum producer, second only to China, out of business.

The Russian aluminum veto was left out of the battery of sanctions that the Biden administration applied in March to energy products such as gasoline in order to prevent further price increases for consumers.

Alcoa has also asked the London Metal Exchange, the reference exchange for trading raw materials in Europe, to eliminate Russian aluminum.  Following Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions, its price rose from $2,100 per tonne at the end of September to $2,250 per tonne at present.

In a statement issued by RUSAL it refutes in the strongest terms any suggestion that it is planning to deliver large quantities of metal on the LME, in Europe, the United States or anywhere else. “RUSAL’s sales book is solid and the company has no need to deliver metal to LME warehouses”. the Russian company adds.