Alcoa Seeks Exemption From US Tariffs For Aluminum

(RTTNews) - Alcoa Corp. (AA), the largest maker of aluminum in the U.S., is seeking exemption from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on metals that was designed to strengthen domestic metal production.

Alcoa has requested the Trump administration for an exemption from the 10% tariffs on aluminum imported from Canada. Alcoa makes a raw form of the metal at its Canadian plant which it rolls into sheet at a U.S. plant. Alcoa operates three smelting plants in Canada that supply Alcoa operations in the U.S.

Alcoa has filed five requests to the U.S. Commerce Department on August 6 asking for waivers from the administration's 10% tariff on imports of aluminum.

According to Alcoa, it can't find enough specialty aluminum alloys for beverage cans in the U.S.

"We filed these requests to ensure our Warrick facility can meet its commitments and better compete domestically and on an export basis," Tim Reyes, president of Alcoa Aluminum, said in a statement.

"Even if all the curtailed smelting capacity in the states was back online and producing metal, the U.S. would still need to import the majority of its aluminum, and most of it from Canada."