As negotiators meet in Washington this week to review the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Aluminum Association today called on American officials to put North American aluminum at the center of the talks. The Trump administration and bipartisan coalition of policymakers recognizes the importance of a strong, vibrant U.S. aluminum industry which supplies the material to make cars, cans, planes, power lines, buildings, defense systems and more.

The association also released a new policy framework outlining priorities to strengthen the U.S. aluminum supply chain, improve trade enforcement and better align regional trade policies against unfairly traded aluminum from non-market economies.

The USMCA agreement was negotiated during a time when the U.S. industry and government had not yet taken significant action to address unfairly traded aluminum, mostly of Chinese origin. In the intervening years, actions taken by the United States to address these issues have diverted unfairly traded metal through transshipping countries, including Mexico, under outdated USMCA rules that allowed for this back door.

“The USMCA review is a chance to fix what doesn’t work and ensure that North American countries trade fairly with each other,” said Charles Johnson, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association. “North America needs to act as one market when it comes to keeping unfairly traded aluminum outside of the region. That means aligned tariffs, better data, stronger rules of origin and real enforcement at every border. And there needs to be consequences when any of these countries act unfairly.”

The association's recommendations come as senior Trump administration officials have increasingly emphasized the importance of stronger regional trade coordination. In congressional testimony last month, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer noted that “Mexico itself understands that it needs to be better aligned with the United States on trade policy to avoid...subsidized products coming in from Asia and elsewhere and undermining the North American market."

And earlier this year, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Goettman called for "unified tariff borders" with Mexico and Canada, highlighting concerns that products made with unfairly traded aluminum and steel can enter the United States through gaps in regional trade enforcement.

In April, Mexico announced plans to meet its USMCA commitment to enhance aluminum import monitoring in the region. Canada has long maintained a strong aluminum import traceability and monitoring platform. In recent weeks, Canada also announced a new program to more closely align regional aluminum tariffs.

“We’re happy to see progress from both Mexico and Canada on stronger monitoring, enforcement and tariff alignment,” said Johnson. “But more must be done. If the USMCA is going to work for American manufacturers, we need to build a strong wall across the region to ensure that unfairly-traded metal from China, Russia and elsewhere doesn’t enter through the backdoor. And we need to hold each other accountable.”

The Aluminum Association's updated USMCA framework, available at www.aluminum.org/USMCA, calls on policymakers to:

• Harmonize external aluminum tariffs across North America and close loopholes that allow unfairly traded aluminum to enter the region through the weakest trade regime.
• Strengthen transparency through coordinated import monitoring and data-sharing systems.
• Update rules of origin to ensure products containing aluminum from non-market economies do not receive preferential USMCA treatment.
• Preserve the free flow of aluminum scrap among the United States, Canada and Mexico while addressing growing exports of valuable North American scrap to non-market economies.
• Support regional markets by ensuring consistent application of trade rules.
• Increase penalties and enforcement against tariff evasion, transshipment and fraudulent country-of-origin claims.

North America's aluminum market is deeply integrated. The United States relies on Canadian primary aluminum and robust scrap trade with both Canada and Mexico to support manufacturing sectors. Fully 90% of the scrap imported to support U.S. automotive, packaging, aerospace, energy and defense sectors comes from North American trading partners. At the same time, aluminum producers throughout the region face increasing pressure from state-supported overcapacity and unfair trade practices originating outside of the region.

"The goal of USMCA review must not be to preserve the status quo," Johnson said. "It should be to create a stronger North American manufacturing platform capable of competing with China's state-supported aluminum industry and other non-market competitors. With better alignment, stronger enforcement and greater transparency, USMCA can truly deliver for manufacturers, workers and consumers throughout North America."

The U.S. aluminum industry has invested more than $11 billion in U.S. operations over the past 10 years, including two new aluminum rolling mills for the first time in nearly 50 years. Investment in the sector is powered by strong demand, strategic trade enforcement and a stable policy environment. The Trump administration has consistently acknowledged aluminum’s critical role in both economic and national security. The Aluminum Association recently released a new report showing the continued resilience of the U.S. aluminum industry including a steady jobs picture and historic levels of economic impact.