By Connor Hart
Approximately 100,000 aluminum industry jobs could be on the chopping block due to President Trump's proposed tariffs measures, according to Alcoa Chief Executive Bill Oplinger.
The U.S. is short of 4 million metric tons of aluminum annually, and this deficit is made up largely through imports from Canada and Mexico, he said Tuesday at the BMO Global Metals and Mining conference.
A 25% tariff on aluminum imports could result in about 20,000 direct U.S. aluminum industry jobs being cut, and as many as 80,000 indirect jobs being slashed, Oplinger said.
"We're clearly advocating based on the fact that this is bad for the aluminum industry in the U.S.," he said. "It's bad for American workers."
Oplinger added that the Pittsburgh-based aluminum company will advocate for the Trump administration to allow for an exemption on Canadian imports. This would allow two-thirds of the metal consumed in the U.S. to continue to come across the border without a tariff, he said.
Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 25, 2025 11:30 ET (16:30 GMT)
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