Tariff hearing reveals concerns about unfair competition, mainly from China, but not just China

Meanwhile, this week, President Trump is in Beijing for a crucial series of meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Discussions are expected to include trade, the Iran war, technology and agriculture.

Most speakers argued that persistent, subsidized overproduction, particularly by China, continues to distort metal markets, threatening domestic manufacturing and national security.

The 301 investigation, launched in March, is looking into the impact on US manufacturing from 16 countries’ production and excess capacity. Other countries and economies under the microscope are the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India.

Charles Johnson, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, said, “The US aluminum industry can compete on merit with any of the companies in the world, but it cannot compete with their governments.”

However, Johnson noted “not all excess capacity is the same.” Section 301 must distinguish between market economy and non-market economy behavior.

The Aluminum Association called on the US Trade Representative (USTR) to strengthen existing trade enforcement tools by ensuring any new remedies:

• Address circumvention and transshipment by non-market actors
• Cover aluminum and downstream, aluminum-intensive products
• Stack with existing Section 232 tariffs for non-market economies
• Not stack on imports from market-based economies
• Continue to exempt aluminum scrap from import tariffs while keeping more of the material for US manufacturers

Joe Quinn, executive director of SAFE’s Center for Strategic Industrial Materials, said China’s producers refine more copper, produce more steel, and smelt more aluminum than any other country due to state-directed investment.

“These major metals serve as the backbone of the US defense industrial base and require significant federal policy intervention beyond existing tariff actions,” Quinn said.

SAFE also outlined its recommended actions:

• USTR should prioritize investigating China over other economies and partner with like-minded market economies to address China’s strategic efforts to undermine domestic producers.
• Tariff actions should avoid instances of tariff inversion and foreign trade surpluses that underutilize domestic manufacturing capacity.
• USTR should strengthen and modernize rules of origin to support meeting domestic metals and material demand through US and allied supply.
• Meaningful non-tariff action should be seriously explored to catalyze new domestic investments, including production tax credits, investment tax credits, energy policy changes, and other financial tools.

Some speakers said the US Trade Representative should widen its scope.

Jason Weber, president of the Aluminum Extruders Council, said Mexico, Turkey, Vietnam, and Indonesia have also used mechanisms such as subsidies, financing at non-market rates.

Weber said Vietnamese exports of extruded aluminum to the US have surged in recent years, increasing by roughly 80%. Indonesian exports of extruded aluminum globally have increased by 34%.

Matt Aboud, senior vice president for strategy and business development for Century Aluminum, also called for other countries to be examined: Canada, Bahrain, Australia, and Russia.

“Many of the largest aluminum-producing countries overly subsidize their domestic aluminum industries, which has led to this rampant and growing excess capacity,” Aboud said.

Overall, he described the production decline in the US.

“The United States was once the world’s largest producer of aluminum, with 23 smelters. The number of operating plants has dwindled to only four today,” Aboud said. “There is no doubt that rising excess aluminum capacity has been a contributor to this decline.”

“While global excess primary aluminum keeps rising, US smelter production of aluminum has readily decreased,” Aboud said. “In 2020, the United States produced roughly one million metric tons of aluminum. In 2025, this figure has dwindled down to approximately 600,000 metric tons.”

Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes investigations into the practices of a foreign country to determine whether they are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce. It allows the US to impose unilateral tariffs or restrictions.

Section 301 duties are separate from the sweeping tariffs Triump issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that were ruled illegal in February.