Urgent Call for Sanctions on Russian Primary Aluminium by the European Union [Promoted content]

Honourable President Von der Leyen,

Honourable Vice-President Dombrovskis,

Honourable Director-General Weyand,

On behalf of the European aluminium industry and its entire value chain, we write to you today to convey the industry’s readiness to contribute to the EU’s efforts to uphold and advance the cause of peace and stability by depriving Russia of a significant market and curtailing its ability to wage its ongoing war of aggression.

Our proposed contribution would effectively close a significant gap in the current sanctions regime imposed on Russia following its unprovoked aggression in Ukraine. While we welcome the proposed inclusion of a limited number of aluminium products (notably wires, foil, tubes, and pipes) in the 12th package, we regret the fact that the vast majority of Russian aluminium exports to the EU (more than 85% of the total), in particular primary metal, look set to remain outside of the scope of the measures. If aluminium sanctions are to have any effect on the Russian economy and its ability to wage war, a much more comprehensive measure will be required.

At the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union took an understandably cautious approach to this issue, having in mind its reliance on Russian supply in recent years and the strategic importance of the material to numerous European industrial value chains. However, 21 months later, circumstances have changed considerably. The European aluminium industry has accelerated its decoupling from Russia, in part based on the advice of the European Commission. Today, although still significant in monetary terms (€2.3 billion in 2022), aluminium ingots from Russia account for only 9% of EU imports and 5% of total consumption in the EU. 

We are therefore confident that a combination of domestic production, currently running at less than full capacity, and imports from elsewhere would be more than sufficient to meet the needs of the European aluminium industry and the many downstream markets our companies serve. Moreover, the inclusion of primary metal and the necessary anti-circumvention measures would in fact serve Europe’s downstream users by stimulating the establishment of more reliable and resilient domestic supply chains, stemming the flow of semi-fabricated products produced in third countries from discounted Russian metal and bolstering domestic production in Europe.

With all of this in mind, we implore the European Commission to come forward with a proposal for a comprehensive ban on Russian primary aluminium imports, and to engage with our industry to address any concerns about the practical implications of such a step for Europe’s downstream users. 

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Paul Voss, Director General, European Aluminium

William F. Oplinger, President and CEO, Alcoa Corporation

Arnaud de Weert, CEO, Alvance

Gerald Mayer, CEO, AMAG Austria Metall AG

Rob Van Gils, CEO, HAI Group

Hilde Merete Aasheim, President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA

Emilio Braghi, President, Novelis Europe

Jakob Stausholm, Chief Executive, Rio Tinto

Einar Glomnes, Chief Executive Officer, Speira

Philipp Schlüter, CEO, TRIMET Aluminium SE

Dr Roman Stiftner, Managing Director, Austrian Non-Ferrous Metals Federation