Aluminum Association Applauds Commerce Department Countervailing Duty Ruling on Aluminum Foil
Certain Aluminum Foil Imports from Oman and Turkey Benefiting from Unfair Government Subsidies
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced today its preliminary determinations that imports of certain aluminum foil from Oman and Turkey are benefitting from unfair government subsidies. Based on these preliminary determinations, the agency will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) to require U.S. importers of certain aluminum foil from Oman and Turkey to deposit estimated countervailing duties at the time of importation.
“We appreciate the Commerce Department’s preliminary findings that aluminum foil from Oman and Turkey benefits from unfair government subsidies, and thank the Department for its work on these important investigations during a challenging time,” said Tom Dobbins, President and CEO of the Aluminum Association. “These determinations are an important step in ensuring that U.S. producers of aluminum foil can compete on a level playing field against overseas competitors – not foreign governments.”
The Commerce Department’s determinations follow the agency’s initiation, on October 19, 2020, of countervailing duty investigations on imports from Oman and Turkey, as well as antidumping investigations on imports of certain aluminum foil from Armenia, Brazil, Oman, Russia, and Turkey.
Based on information gathered to date, the Commerce Department calculated preliminary subsidy margins, as follows:
- Oman: 2.15 percent
- Turkey: 2.79 percent
The next step in these trade actions will be the Commerce Department’s issuance of its preliminary antidumping determinations, which are scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. If affirmative preliminary antidumping determinations are issued by the Commerce Department, U.S. importers will be required to post duty deposits on all entries of certain aluminum foil from the five countries subject to investigation in the amount of the preliminary dumping margins, and will also be required to deposit estimated duties on imports from Oman and Turkey that are covered by the Commerce Department’s preliminary subsidy determinations announced today.
The certain aluminum foil subject to the Commerce Department’s investigation includes flat-rolled aluminum products that are 0.2 mm or less in thickness (less than 0.0079 inches) in reels weighing more than 25 pounds and that is not backed. The determination does not cover etched capacitor foil or foil that has been cut to shape. Certain aluminum foil is used extensively in food and pharmaceutical packaging, household foil, thermal insulation, cables, electronics, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”) applications and other heat transfer products where properties such as light weight, resistance to corrosion, and formability are desired.
The Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group is represented in these actions by John M. Herrmann and Brooke M. Ringel of the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.
Media Contact
Matt Meenan
mmeenan@aluminum.org
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