Speaking at the BMO Global Metals and Mining Conference, Alcoa CEO William Oplinger spoke out against Trump’s proposed tariffs on the aluminum industry, stating, “It’s bad for the U.S.”
Alcoa, which operates in the U.S. and Canada, provides a portion of the 4 million metric tons of aluminum the U.S. imports annually.
“We’re clearly advocating based on the fact that this is bad for the aluminum industry in the US,” Oplinger said, “It’s bad for American workers.”
“I don’t have updated numbers for a 35% tariff, but we have a view that [a] 25% tariff will destroy about 20,000 direct U.S. aluminum industry jobs and could result in 80,000 indirect jobs being eliminated in the US,” Oplinger commented.
Oplinger noted that Alcoa is currently considering its options regarding whether to invest in boosting U.S. production. The company’s investment decisions require a “horizon of 20 to 40 years,” and the CEO believes that the tariffs will likely be in place for only a short period.
“One of the issues around the uncertainty of the tariffs is it’s very hard to make an investment decision even on something like a restart without knowing how long the tariffs will last,” he said.
In January, Oplinger estimated that a 25% tariff on Canadian aluminum could increase costs for U.S. consumers by up to $2 billion annually.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
