Alcoa seeks exemption from tariffs that are hurting

Through the beginning of August, the Commerce Department had approved 115 requests for aluminum exclusions and denied 111, with thousands of others not yet adjudicated.

“We will deal with them in the same transparent and impartial manner as we deal with all requests,” James Rockas, a spokesman for the Commerce Department, said in an email, referring to Alcoa. “Once we see whether serious objections have been raised it will be easier to evaluate the Alcoa application.”

Chicago-based Century Aluminum, which supports the tariffs, has filed objections to several exemption requests, according to public filings. Century’s chief executive, Michael A. Bless, said earlier this month that the levies were prompting aluminum companies to revive idled capacity. The company intends to invest as much as $150 million on restarting and upgrading a plant in Hawesville, Ky.

Both Alcoa and Century have financially benefited from the rise in aluminum prices in the United States.

Commerce officials stressed on Monday that granting an exclusion in a case where a U.S. company could supply the product in question would undermine the rationale for the tariffs, which are meant to reduce imports and boost the domestic metals industries.

A company that is denied an exclusion may resubmit its application if no U.S. producer will sell the product it is seeking, or a substitute, a department official said. The Commerce Department this month will revise its rules to allow companies to directly rebut exclusion objections.

Aluminum industry representatives say tariffs are hurting the sector and will ultimately make U.S. companies that rely on foreign metals less competitive.

“During a time of record demand for aluminum in the United States, it is critical that companies have access to a steady source of supply,” Matt Meenan, a spokesman for the Aluminum Association, a lobbying group, said in an email.

One company’s experience in the steel exclusions process could bode well for Alcoa: A Chinese-owned company, Greenfield Industries of South Carolina, was granted nearly 1,000 exclusions to import specialized steel from its parent company in China.