NORTH AMERICAN ALUMINUM ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAM TO MONITOR ALUMINUM IMPORTS

The U.S. Aluminum Association has just announced the release of a monthly report tracking key insights from the International Trade Administration’s Aluminum Import Monitoring (AIM) program. Specifically, this panel incorporates the most recent transmission data, which was collected since the aluminum licensing requirement on June 28, 2021. It also makes it possible to locate the country where the aluminum product was last liquefied by heat and transformed into a solid state.

The Aluminum Association has been fighting for many years for the creation of an AIM system. Undoubtedly, a fundamental tool for trade control and enforcement to address potential transshipments in the aluminum market.

Charles Johnson, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association notes that “this system is a critical early warning tool for the aluminum industry to track trade flows and enforce trade laws. We are confident that it will help us be agile and responsive to market trends in near real-time.”

The report also includes a breakdown of aluminum import license applications by product type and country, as well as detailed spreadsheets with all relevant data up to February, showing a significant increase in imports in this particular area.

South Africa’s import license volume showed a 302% increase over the three-month census average with a total volume of 22,775 metric tons (MT). The volume of Chinese import licenses also recorded a considerable increase of 24% with a total volume of 23,981 MT.