EU Loses Strategic Aluminium Scrap Due To US Section 232 Tariff Disparity
A senior European metals executive warns Europe is haemorrhaging strategic aluminium scrap to the United States, driven by uneven US Section 232 aluminium tariff rules.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe, the industry leader flagged that EU aluminium scrap shipments to the US have surged 243%. The US tariff framework imposes a 50% import duty on primary aluminium but exempts aluminium scrap from the levy.
“Europe cannot pursue industrial competitiveness while allowing the resources needed for that industry to flow elsewhere,” the executive noted in a follow-up LinkedIn post. He highlighted the policy contradiction: the EU targets decarbonisation and higher aluminium recycling rates, yet valuable secondary raw materials keep leaving the continent.
The comment comes from operator of Europe’s largest fully integrated bauxite-alumina-aluminium supply chain. The group shifted its main listing to London in 2025 and is expanding into critical raw materials, including Europe’s first gallium production project.
The executive also cautioned that Europe’s traditional economic assumptions — cheap energy, open export markets and US security backing — can no longer be taken for granted as the bloc fights to protect its metals industrial base.
