Aluminum associations from four countries Dec. 9 applauded recent trade minister commitments to renew a partnership among the US, the EU, and Japan that addresses "global challenges posed by non-market policies and practices of third countries."
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"The aluminum industry across our regions is already working together to ensure that we have the best available information on the sources and the impacts of international market distortions," the association added.
The US Aluminum Association, European Aluminium, the Aluminium Association of Canada, and the Japan Aluminium Association issued the statement.
"Non-market policies and practices are eroding industrial ecosystems and driving out resilient supply chains in strategic sectors across the US, Europe, Canada, and Japan," the associations said.
The statement was issued in response to a Nov. 30 agreement among trade representatives from the US, the EU, and Japan to focus efforts on identifying problems caused by non-market practices, gaps in existing enforcement tools, and areas where further work is needed to develop rules combatting non-market practices.
The associations said greater enforcement on countries that promote market-distorting practices will also pressure environmentally harmful aluminum capacity and protect lower emission production operating in market economies.
"Our member companies are committed to producing aluminum responsibly," the associations said.
"We are seeking a global level playing field, open to competition in free and fair markets. This is the only way to provide good jobs, contribute to community well-being, sustain the environment and decarbonize the sector," the associations added.
US engaging UK, Norway in similar partnerships
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo have held similar meetings during the Dec. 5 week with representatives from Norway and the UK to address steel and aluminum market distortions and tariffs.
"Secretary Raimondo and [UK Secretary of State for International Trade] Anne-Marie Trevelyan discussed finding a path early in the new year for both governments to engage expeditiously in consultations on steel and aluminum, with a view to combating global excess capacity and addressing outstanding concerns on US tariffs and UK countermeasures," Commerce said Dec. 8 in a statement.
"They also agreed to identify ways to expand bilateral cooperation on trade in clean technology to support decarbonization efforts in both countries," Commerce said.
In a separate meeting with Trevelyan, the USTR's office said Tai emphasized the US' commitment "to working with like-minded partners to address non-market excess capacity in the steel and aluminum sectors, ensure the industry's long-term viability and addressing the carbon intensity of steel and aluminum production," according to a Dec. 7 statement.
Tai also met with Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt to discuss how the US and Norway could discuss "shared challenges posed by China's non-market policies and practices," the USTR said in a statement Dec. 9.