Request Letter

RECEIVED

NUMBER

COMMITTEE QN WAYS AND MEANS

_

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEB2 4 Z015

OFFICE or THE SECRETARY

r DC2°“
WASHINGTON

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u.s. INTL. TRADE COMMISSION
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February 24, 2016

Omce Dflhe i
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The Honorable Meredith Broadbent
Chairman

Secretary

,

. _W I WadeC°m'"l55l0!I
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U.S. International Trade Commission
500 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20436

Dear Chairman Broadbent:
The Committee on Ways and Means is interested in obtaining current information on relevant
factors affecting the global competitiveness of the U.S. aluminum industry. The U.S. aluminum industry
remains a globally successful producer of aluminum products. A healthy and growing aluminum industry
is not only important to our economy, but is also vital. for our national defense.
i

ln order to better assess the current market conditions confronting the U.S. industry, we request
that the U.S. lnternational Trade Commission conduct an investigation under section 332(g) ofthe Tariff
Act ol’ 1930 (I 9 U.S.C. i332(g)), and provide a report setting forth the results oflhe investigation. The
investigation should cover unwrought (e.g., primary and secondary) and Wrought (e.g,, semi-finished)
aluminum products
To the extent that information is available, the report should contain:

'

an overview ofthe aluminum industry in the United States and other major global producing and
exporting countries, ‘including production, production capacity, capacity utilization, employment,
wages, inventories, supply chains, domestic demand, and exports;

'

information on recent trade trends and developments in the global market for aluminum,
including U.S. and other major foreign producer imports and exports, and trade flows through
third countries for further processing and subsequent exports; .

a comparison ofthe competitive strengths and weaknesses of aluminum production and exports in
the United States and other major producing and exporting countries, including such factors as
producer revenue and production costs, industry structure, input prices and availability, energy
costs and sources, production technology, product innovation, exchange rates, and pricing, as
well as government policies and programs that directly or indirectly affect aluminum production
and exporting in these countries;
in countries where unwrought aluminum capacity has significantly increased, identify factors
driving those capacity and related piroduction changes; and

"

a qualitative and, to the extent possible, quantitative assessment ofthe impact of government
policies and programs in major foreign aluminum producing and exporting countries on their
aluminum production, exports, consumption, and domestic prices, as wellas on the U.S.
aluminum industry and on aluminum markets worldwide.

The report should focus primarily on the 20l l~20l5 time period, but examine longer term trends
since 2001. To duet/elopdetailed information on the domestic aluminum market and industry, it is
anticipated that the Commission will need to collect primary data from market participants through
questionnaires. The Committee requests that the Commission transmit its report to Congress no later than
l6 months following the receipt ofthis request. lt is the Committee's intent to make the Commission's
report available to the public in its entirety. Therefore, the report should not include any confidential
business information.
‘

Thank you for your attention to this request.

Sincer y,

"

t

evin

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: Rep. Sandy Levin, Rankin Member

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