The department on Friday unveiled tariffs ranging from 4.88% to 63.05% on aluminum foil produced in Armenia, Brazil, Oman, Russia and Turkey in a win for the domestic businesses that urged Commerce to intervene on a slew of unfair trade practices.

Tom Dobbins, the president and CEO of the Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group, which represents companies that account for 70% of the aluminum and aluminum products shipped in North America, said the finalized tariffs brought the domestic industry "one step closer" to securing relief.

"U.S. manufacturers should not have to compete with products that are sold at unfairly low prices and subsidized by foreign governments in violation of the trade rules that we all must follow," Dobbins said in a statement Friday.

The tariffs will only go into effect if the U.S. international Trade Commission, which is conducting a parallel investigation into the aluminum foil imports, finds that the products are financially injuring domestic producers. The ITC is set to release the results of its probe Oct. 31.

In October 2020, Commerce opened an investigation into the imports at the request of the Aluminum Association. The organization said the five countries were dumping their products in the U.S. market and also accused the Omani and Turkish governments of illegally subsidizing their aluminum foil production.

The department mostly agreed with the claims when it announced preliminary tariffs in April. However, Commerce spared Turkish aluminum foil producers from anti-dumping tariffs, to Dobbins' disappointment.

Commerce's final tariffs include anti-dumping duties on Turkish aluminum foil. And in another break from its preliminary findings, the department slashed its early 188.84% anti-dumping duties against Armenian aluminum foil to 29.11%.

$213 million worth of aluminum foil was imported from the five countries in 2020, according to Commerce.

Embassies for the five countries didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

The Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group is represented by John M. Herrmann, Brooke M. Ringel, David C. Smith, Melissa M. Brewer, Elizabeth C. Johnson and Joshua R. Morey of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

The investigations are Aluminum Foil from Armenia, Brazil, Oman, Russia and Turkey, investigation numbers A-831-804, A-351-856, A-523-815, C-523-816, A-821-828, A-489-844 and C-489-845, in the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Source: Law 360