India’s primary aluminum producers call for higher scrap duty

The Aluminium Association of India (AAI), which represents primary aluminum producers in that nation, says the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is harming India’s primary industry.

Citing a flurry of tariffs being issued, the association has called for the Indian government to increase the duty on imports of aluminum scrap. The AAI claims that around 30 percent of China’s aluminum scrap imports come from the United States, and recently China has announced plans to impose a 25 percent import duty on aluminum scrap metal from the U.S. That hike followed the U.S. imposing a 25 percent duty on $34 billion in imports from China.

“The import duty in India on aluminum scrap is currently only at 2.5 percent, thereby making it a viable alternative for U.S. exports,” the AAI says, adding that as a precautionary measure it wants the import duty on both aluminum scrap and primary metal to be raised to 10 percent.

“We have a capacity of 4 million metric tons per annum and our consumption is 3.6 million metric tons, which we are producing. What will be the situation in the market be when imports start increasing? It will ruin the domestic aluminum industry,” the association states.