In February of 2018, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that he would be imposing a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports. The tariff increases were to take effect by the end of March 2018. Trump’s latest salvo may prove to be dangerous as it could spur global trade wars and increase aluminum and steel prices. The purpose of this blog post is to provide important information to aluminum, steel and A356.2 consumers. If you are still questioning what Trump’s rationale was for imposing these tariffs, he made it very clear; “When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump stated on Twitter. Also, American steel and aluminum companies have long complained of unfair practices by overseas competitors, especially Chinese state subsidies that encourage production at much lower costs.
On Wednesday March 7, 2018, Trump clarified his stance on the tariffs, and while Canada and Mexico have received a temporary exclusion, the timeline for this leniency currently remains unclear. Much criticism has accompanied Trump’s new plan, and there are already rumours that China, the leading manufacturer of aluminum in the world and one of the countries affected, may divert more of its aluminum supply to developing countries, such as the Philippines and Vietnam. This development would in turn stimulate competition with China from South Korea and Thailand, which may ignite a global trade war between the three export giants.
Trump’s tariffs would also likely raise the prices of common aluminum products in the US, such as beer cans, household appliances, and auto parts, assuming that US manufacturing companies will pay more for US goods or more expensive foreign goods that are now being taxed.
Eccomelt356.2 – Substitute for A356.2 Ingot | Will not be Impacted by new Tariffs
Eccomelt, with locations in both the United States and Canada, is the market leader in the production of a chemically pure, eco-friendly substitute for A356.2 ingot. Since 2006, we have been providing OEMs, Tier 1’s, and foundries in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Mexico with Eccomelt356.2; the result of a patented process that is a revolutionary innovation in the aluminum industry. We are pleased to inform that our Eccomelt356.2 product, a substitute for A356.2 ingot, sow, and T-bar, remains unaffected by the newly proposed tariffs since our product is fully manufactured in the U.S. from locally sourced, recycled products. Our factory, based in Georgia, manufactures an eco-friendly, economical, and high quality product at excellent prices.
Our supply of aluminum also remains unchanged by the tariffs. Aluminum is infinitely recyclable. This means that no matter how many times you reprocess and remold the product, it will never break down or lose quality. Primary aluminum will continue to be recycled into other aluminum products for years and years to come with an infinite benefit to the consumer and to the environment.
Trump’s tariff increase decision has left many unanswered questions and a lot of uncertainty regarding global trade among consumers and manufacturers. It is also evident that this is a story in progress with many more details to follow over time. As new developments arise with regard to this topic we’ll continue to update this post.
Eccomelt356.2 | Direct Substitute for A356.2 Ingot, Sow and T-bar
Eccomelt is a division of House of Metals Co. Ltd., founded in 1953 and has achieved recognition as being one of Canada’s best-known aluminum processors.
Alongside Alcan R&D, Eccomelt has developed an eco-friendly substitute for A356.2 from aluminum wheels. Our product is the material of choice for many consumers because it is chemically pure and environmentally-friendly. Its shredded form has achieved higher melting rates than ingot, sow or T-Bar. Environmental testing has also proven the process eliminates all coatings.
Our customer support specialists would be delighted to speak to you about your aluminum alloy needs. For more information about our products, please visit our about us page. Alternatively, please contact us at (888) 356-9557 for more information on our Eccomelt356.2 product.
