The European aluminium market still faces many unknown influences following US President Donald Trump's latest announcement on the imposition of trade tariffs under Section 232.
Trump announced on Thursday March 1 that he would impose tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium imports into the US for an indefinite period. Section 232 allows him to take such action when he believes that national security may be compromised by imports.For much of the European market, the specifics of the tariff remain vague, however."Who knows what the effect of it is? There are so many details that we must know before we can understand it. I feel like we are swimming against the tide," a trader in Europe said."I think it's still early days," a second trader said, adding that details about the types and origins of aluminium products that will be affected remain vague.Some of the market is interpreting Trump's announcement as a 10% blanket tariff on all aluminium imports, which would include P1020-grade materials and other downstream products.In such a scenario, some...