European Aluminium is advocating for the creation of a global forum on excess capacity with transparent data and monitoring tools, the industry lobby group said Thursday.
Ahead of next week's G20 summit in Hamburg, the group said the G20 should "address the present situation of Chinese overcapacity, which causes global imbalances in the aluminium industry and distorts international trade flows".
"The G7 took a step in the right direction by pushing for the removal of all trade-distorting practices and calling for a truly level playing field," said Gerd Gotz, director general of European Aluminium.
"But the G20 must go further. It must take action. If it does not, it will give a signal that distortive state intervention is not only possible but accepted, despite WTO rules," he said.
Last week, Gotz testified at the US Commerce Dept.'s public hearing on the Section 232 Investigation into the impact of aluminum imports on US national security, saying European imports of aluminum posed no threat to US national security and should be excluded from any proposed action under the investigation.
In his testimony, Gotz said European Aluminium "shares the concerns of the US government regarding the significant Chinese aluminium overcapacity and its impact on the US and European industries, despite the healthy demand for aluminium worldwide."
Continued joint efforts between the US and Europe "are necessary to tackle the root causes of the global excess capacity and to secure balance in the US and European aluminium markets," he told the hearing.
European Aluminium's members include primary aluminum producers, downstream manufacturers of extruded, rolled and cast aluminum, producers of recycled aluminium and national aluminum associations representing more than 600 plants in 30 European countries.
