US President Donald Trump's decision to enact a 10% tariff on aluminium imports is expected to give suppliers stronger grounds to ask for higher premiums for second-quarter aluminium supply to main Japanese ports (MJP), market participants said.
Trump confirmed on Thursday March 1 that he will impose a 10% tariff on aluminium imports into the United States as a result of the Section 232 investigation into the national security impact of such imports. He is expected to sign the tariffs into order next week. "The Q2 MJP offers are very high compared to Q1. We would like to negotiate for $120 but that could be difficult now due to the Section 232 results which will cause US premiums to rise," one Japanese buyer said. Offers for second-quarter MJP supply are so far at $133-135 per tonne, up about 30% from the first-quarter settlement...