By Bob Tita

Trump administration tariffs on Canadian aluminum don't have Alcoa in a hurry to restart its idled U.S. production capacity.

"It's hard to make a restart decision based on tariffs that could change," Chief Executive William Oplinger said during a call with analysts. "We just don't know whether they will stick."

Pittsburgh-based Alcoa has been closing older smelters in the U.S. for decades and serving U.S. customers from Canada. The company operates two smelters in Canada and is a partner in a third one. In the U.S., it has a plant in New York state near Niagara Falls and a smelter in southern Indiana where a portion remains out of service.

Canada is now the largest supplier of aluminum from smelters to the U.S., accounting for 75% of the total consumed annually, according to the Aluminum Association.

Currently there are four smelters operating in the U.S., and Alcoa said as many as six new ones would be needed to cover the domestic demand now supplied by imports.

Alcoa said it has been able to avoid exposure to a stack of U.S. tariffs so far, limiting its tax to the 25% on imported steel and aluminum that started March 12. The company said it paid $20 million in tariffs during the first quarter ended March 31, and expects to pay $90 million in the second quarter.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2025 18:58 ET (22:58 GMT)

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