A global dialogue intended to resolve the issue of overcapacity in China's aluminium production would be better for creating a fair global market than the imposition of tariffs, a panel of industry experts has said.
Speaking at Metal Bulletin's 33rd International Aluminium conference in Berlin this week, panelists noted that the Section 232 tariffs - imposed in June by the United States on aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the EU - had had little effect on Chinese supplies."From an Alcoa standpoint, tariffs would not be our preferred method," Tim Reyes, the president of Alcoa Aluminum, told the conference."Certainly, applying tariffs to trade partners - specifically Canada, which the US relies on considerably - does not seem to be the appropriate way to address the issue, which is really Chinese overcapacity," he added."We [would] prefer to see more of a global discussion related to overcapacity, to make an attempt to level the playing field for all participants in the market, and start to really address [the issue that] the industry consensus shows is the real problem," he said.Net exports from China have not slowed down...