Commentary: Unfair imports from China and elsewhere threaten Georgia jobs

This commentary is by Brook Massey, the President of MI Metals, Inc. in Millen.

Efforts by China and other countries to undercut American industries are pervasive and well known. They have a new target right here in Georgia: manufacturers who specialize in making extruded aluminum.

Many things that people use daily have extruded aluminum in them — from cars to kitchen appliances and window frames. Yet despite its importance, the U.S. extruded aluminum industry has been allowed to fall prey to unfairly imported competitors. Fourteen countries led by China are flooding the U.S. with dumped and subsidized aluminum extrusions, wreaking havoc on a $7 billion industry.

Luckily, the U.S. government is considering ways to safeguard the aluminum extrusion industry from such external threats. Georgians need the help so they can keep their jobs.

One root of the problem is China's stymied economic growth, partially triggered by a collapse of its property market, which relies on aluminum extrusions. The downturn has resulted in China’s chronic overproduction being directed to exports, inundating global markets with excess supply. This means that producers in third-party countries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Ecuador, and Colombia, are being pushed out of their own markets and turning toward the U.S. to dump their extrusions. The surge in cheap exported extrusions has significantly increased in recent years, eroding sales of U.S. producers.

As a consequence, the aluminum extrusion industry is hemorrhaging thousands of jobs at a time when it should be adding them. Aluminum extruders in the U.S. directly employ 37,000 workers, many of them union members, and that doesn't include another 160,000 workers that are indirectly helped by aluminum extruders.

My company, MI Metals, an aluminum extruder in rural Millen, is feeling the impact. The situation is dire. MI Metals, like many other extruders, has had a decline in sales and has been forced to reduce production.

We recently invested $11 million to expand the plant, which is important to that part of the state. We were hoping to add 50 more jobs there. Instead, we’ve added barely a handful of new workers and don’t expect to increase employment at least until the federal government enforces its trade laws and imposes duties on unfairly traded imports.

Aluminum extrusions are created by heating aluminum alloy and pressing it through a steel die to produce various shapes. The process uses an alloy blend, consisting of both recycled and primary aluminum, to increase sustainability. Renowned for their strength, corrosion resistance, and lightweight properties, aluminum extrusions are highly sought-after for military and civilians uses because of to their versatility and practicality.

Demand in the U.S. has been growing steadily. But American manufacturers have been unable to boost production and compete with foreign entities who are playing by different rules.

In 2010, the aluminum extrusion industry encountered a similar deluge of unfairly traded aluminum extrusions and petitioned the federal government for assistance. Tariffs were imposed on Chinese imports the following year. Unfortunately, this action, together with the widely noted downturn in China’s economy, has prompted Chinese producers to redirect their extrusions to other global markets, triggering an increase in exports from countries such as Ecuador, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Malaysia to the U.S.

Worse, Chinese producers have established operations in third countries to maintain their focus on the U.S. market. For instance, between 2020 and 2022, U.S. imports of aluminum extrusions from Mexico surged by more than 80 percent, with a significant portion originating from Chinese-owned enterprises.

The situation is about to get worse. Chinese extruders are aggressively expanding their capacity in Mexico. China’s Xusheng Group recently unveiled plans to establish a facility in Coahuila, Mexico, boasting six extrusion press lines. This move signifies a concerning escalation in the onslaught of unfairly traded aluminum extrusions, further jeopardizing Georgia producers and workers.

In response to this threat a coalition of 14 U.S. aluminum extruders, including our company, along with the United Steelworkers union, last year petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to impose new antidumping and countervailing duties. These measures would rectify the unfair practices of aluminum extruders in 14 countries, including China.

The Commerce Department needs to continue to assess the extent of dumping and subsidization by extruders in these nations and impose tariffs to correct the market imbalance. This would finally bring some security to workers in Georgia and around the nation.

American companies and workers can compete with anyone if they have a level playing field. But this can only happen when foreign countries adhere to fair trade practices. It is imperative that the U.S. government intervene to protect jobs in Georgia and elsewhere in the U.S.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Commentary: Unfair imports from China, elsewhere hurt Georgia jobs