Trump’s tariffs, Conserva (FACE): “US far from its aluminium needs”
A US federal court has halted the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, ruling them illegal, but meanwhile many had already come into effect, such as the 25% duties on aluminium and steel imports introduced on 12 March, which have burdened a sector already heavily taxed.
“Those on the raw starting material, bauxite, those on semi-finished products, on rolled products and on all final products, which trouble thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises in Italy and the European Union,” laments Mario Conserva, Secretary General of FACE. “One of our primary concerns is the absurd persistence of the import duty on primary aluminium,” continues the Secretary General, “we lack almost 90% of the aluminium we need and to import it we have to pay a tax ranging between 3 and 6%, which is a pure loss of international competitiveness for our production system — a truly worrying situation that we have always denounced.”
Conserva also recalls how “today the United States does not even remotely have domestic supply to meet the primary aluminium needs of their downstream industries,” and to reach this demand “would require years, significant costs and considerable environmental energy burdens.” “With Trump’s extraordinary decision-making volatility, the United States risks a recession, with the threat of exporting its consequences everywhere,” says the Secretary General of FACE.
Mario Conserva’s contribution in SKY TG24 article is available here.
