Australia’s handful of ageing smelters are selling more into the US market than a decade ago. But they are not killing America’s aluminium industry as Donald Trump’s chief MAGA trade attack dog, Peter Navarro, claims.
America’s golden age of aluminum ended a decade or two ago. China took over as the world’s biggest producer backed by lower costs, subsidies and scale, but now operates a cap on its production to soak up its excess capacity.
Michael StutchburyEditor-at-largeMichael Stutchbury is editor-at-large. He is in his fourth decade of writing for and editing national newspapers. After nearly six years as editor of The Australian, he returned to the Financial Review as editor-in-chief (2011-2024). Email Michael at mstutchbury@afr.com
