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Tariff Impact Exposes Aluminum Market Fragility

The complex and ever-changing nature of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy is exposing the fragility of the aluminum supply chain. After nearly three months of a 50% tariff, the EU is feeling the pressure, scrambling to neutralize the negative effects.

Brussels is preparing emergency measures to protect its 40 billion euros aluminum industry, which employs approximately 250,000 people directly and supports an additional 1 million jobs. The problem is the policy imbalance.

While finished aluminum exports to the United States face a 50% tariff, scrap metal shipments are exempt. That situation has created a flow of scrap toward the U.S., starving European recyclers of critical feedstock.

Also Read: US Aluminum Tariffs Risk Supply Chain And Food Security, Industry Insiders Warn

“Plants are already shutting down capacity, and for our recyclers this is not about shrinking profit margins but survival,” Paul Voss, head of European Aluminium, told the Financial Times. “The bloc only has weeks to get ...