The Dept. of Commerce released preliminary findings that the governments of China, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey harmfully subsidize their aluminum extrusion industries. Commerce calculated preliminary countervailing duties from each country in the following ranges: imports from China at rates of 15.41% to 169.66%, imports from Indonesia at rates of 6.69% to 43.56%, imports from Mexico at rates of 1.68% to 77.80% and imports from Turkey at rates of 1.45% to 147.53%.

Commerce initiated antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigations in October regarding aluminum extrusion imports from 14 countries, including China, India, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. From the latest round of deliberations in these investigations, Commerce excluded fully-assembled solar modules and “off-grid solar charging modules” from these investigations. However, extruded solar racking and imported panel frames are under investigation.

A memorandum published on Monday states that the investigation includes “aluminum extrusions, regardless of form, finishing, or fabrication, whether assembled with other parts or unassembled, whether coated, painted, anodized, or thermally improved.” Aluminum extrusion is the process of shaping raw aluminum into any number of profiles. Aluminum products that have non-aluminum components, like fasteners, or have a coating applied in one of the listed countries are still included in the scope of the investigation, according to the document. As it stands, import duties could apply to pre-extruded aluminum products like solar racking.

The U.S. Aluminum Extruders Coalition and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union petitioned this case.

“We are encouraged that the Commerce Dept. has taken preliminary action to remedy the unfair and illegal subsidization of aluminum extrusions from China, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey,” said Robert E. DeFrancesco, trade counsel to the Petitioners and a partner in the International Trade Practice at Wiley Rein LLP. “The widespread subsidization confirms that foreign governments are willing to provide meaningful and unfair support to boost aluminum extrusion exports, and it is, therefore, critical that Commerce continue to rigorously counter these harms to the U.S. aluminum extrusion industry.”

The determinations by Commerce establish the preliminary duty rates in the subsidies portion of the investigations. Following the publication of Commerce’s preliminary determination in the Federal Register in approximately one week, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to begin suspending liquidation and collecting preliminary duties (in the form of cash deposits) on entries of aluminum extrusions from China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey.

These duty rates are only for the countervailing duty investigations. They do not yet include the rates from the ongoing antidumping duty investigations of aluminum extrusions from China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey, which will be added to the preliminary subsidy rates. The Commerce Department’s preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty cases on these four countries, as well as 10 other countries, are currently scheduled for May 1.

These are preliminary determinations only, and subsidy rates may increase before the final determination. The countervailing duty investigations are ongoing, and Commerce has not yet had time to fully investigate all potential subsidies. Commerce’s final determination is currently expected in late July 2024 but may be extended to align with the corresponding antidumping investigations.

News item from Aluminum Extruders Council