Over the last decade, the US has imposed a layered, global tariff wall on aluminum & aluminum products. Imports predictably declined, yet they're still 60% of US consumption and US smelters have kept closing - even with blanket tariffs of 50%!
This isn't because of “unfair trade”; it's because aluminum needs tons of electricity, and US power prices (plus fierce competition for electricity from AI, etc) have made US smelting uneconomical vs. regions with abundant power. Only 4 US smelters are now open, just 2 at full capacity. And one new US facility under development in power-rich OK won't start until at least 2030. In the meantime (and likely after), the US need imports, and tariffs will impose major costs.
Most obviously, prices have skyrocketed, harming consumers (especially for food & beverages). US manufacturers have also suffered. Aluminum is a critical input for automotive, aerospace, defense, food, etc. production. Today, US firms pay much more for the metal than do their overseas competitors, and their supply chains are more fragile (see, eg, Ford).
And maybe worst of all, the tariffs have pushed Canada, a massive aluminum producer (former close ally and member of the US defense industrial base) to sell less to US firms and more to others, making America more reliant on Middle East producers now hit by the Iran war.
Overall, aluminum tariffs have raised prices, hurt US manufacturers & consumers, alienated a top producer & former close ally, and weakened the DIB. Old smelters keep closing, and any new ones will take years to come online and divert resources from better uses if/when they do.
They're truly the dumbest tariffs ever. (What corruption can do to the US...)
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-03-27/the-tariff-on-aluminum-is-the-world-s-dumbest
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