The Department of Commerce will announce tariffs on common alloy aluminum sheet from China on Tuesday, and the National Marine Manufacturers Association still expects the result of many combined tariffs targeting Chinese aluminum to be in excess of 60 percent.
This story by Reagan Haynes originally appeared in Trade Only Today.
The tariff to be announced next week is the result of the countervailing investigation initiated by the Commerce Department to determine whether China is unfairly subsidizing its aluminum sheet industry.
A separate anti-dumping investigation will determine whether China is dumping aluminum sheet. Both practices would allow the nation to sell aluminum sheet to the United States at low prices.
It’s the first time in three decades that the Department of Commerce has initiated such an investigation; typically, one is launched when an industry files a compliant.
The European Union said last month it would impose a variety of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports in response to the 25 percent duty on steel and included recreational boats on its list of targets. It has not yet issued a response to the aluminum duties.