On March 19, 2024, aluminum associations in the United States, Mexico and Canada issued a joint letter to trade officials in their respective countries requesting the formation of a “North American Aluminum Trade Committee” in advance of the 2026 review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

While the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) appreciates the efforts being taken by the Aluminum Association for their efforts to convince the Mexican government to comply with their responsibilities in the USMCA, these efforts simply do not cover the full concerns of the AEC and its members.

The Aluminum Association does not represent the U.S. aluminum industry as a whole. In particular, the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), a U.S. association of aluminum extruders comprising the overwhelming majority of the U.S. extrusions industry, is an entirely separate entity from The Aluminum Association that signed the joint letter.

The AEC and the associations that signed the letter have different positions on certain issues, including trade remedies and enforcement. As a result, to the extent that a North American Aluminum Trade Committee is formed, the AEC, and likely other representatives of the domestic aluminum industry, must be provided an opportunity to directly participate and represent itself and the interests of its U.S. members.

While the AEC welcomes collaboration with the governments and aluminum industries of Mexico and Canada in the stated goals of increasing regional aluminum import monitoring, strengthening regional trade enforcement, and supporting an aluminum sustainability agenda, the agenda must go further. These goals must include addressing third countries’ unfair trade practices within the region that undermine the benefits of USMCA and expanding the automotive rules of origin to include a North American “smelted and cast” provision. How these goals are pursued will significantly impact the U.S. aluminum extrusions industry, and the viability of these endeavors will depend in large part on the extrusion industry’s support.

As the principal representative of the U.S. aluminum extrusions industry, the AEC’s input and direct representation are necessary for both the AEC’s support of the formation of any trilateral committee and for that committee’s ultimate ability to accomplish its stated goals.

About AEC

The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) is a progressive trade association dedicated to advancing the effective use of aluminum extrusion in North America. AEC is committed to bringing comprehensive information about extrusion's characteristics, applications, environmental benefits, design and technology to users, product designers, engineers and the academic community. Further, AEC is focused on enhancing the ability of its members to meet the emerging demands of the market through sharing knowledge and best practices. For more information, visit www.aec.org and follow AEC on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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