As demand for aluminium keeps growing in transportation, packaging, energy, defence and advanced manufacturing, the Aluminum Association is calling for a strategy that supports all options to strengthen America’s aluminium supply chains – including more recycling, more recycled aluminium production, and more domestic primary aluminium production.

“Too often, discussions around primary and secondary aluminium frame these materials as an either-or choice,” said Charles Johnson, president & CEO of the Aluminium Association. “The truth is that these materials are complementary – not fully interchangeable. And if the United States is going to win the future of manufacturing, we need to incentivise and grow the production of both materials.”

Aluminium is one of the few materials labeled as critical minerals by all federal agencies, showing its important role in national defence and economic security.

• Primary aluminium is made from bauxite-derived alumina and produced through an energy-intensive smelting process. Primary aluminium is the foundational metal required for many critical manufacturing applications – from defence to aerospace to the electric grid.
• Secondary aluminium is mostly made from recycled aluminium scrap, with some primary metal added when needed. It is used in areas like packaging, cars, and construction, and helps save energy, cut costs, and meet growing demand. Recycling aluminium uses 95% less energy than making primary aluminium.

Over the past several decades, primary aluminium production in the United States has dropped sharply, with domestic production 80% lower today than at its peak in the 1980s. Plans to build new primary aluminium plants and restart old ones in places like Oklahoma are very important for the industry’s future. Today, the United States can make less than 20% of the primary aluminium it needs, so the industry depends on imports for the foreseeable future.

Most of the primary aluminium imported into the United States today comes from Canada, which has plenty of cheap, renewable hydropower. This metal supports 98% of U.S. aluminium jobs, which are in mid- and downstream production and processing.

As primary production has gone down, secondary aluminium production and recycling have grown a lot. U.S. aluminium scrap collection for recycling has more than doubled since the 1980s, and today 85% of U.S. aluminium production is from recycled sources. Over the past ten years, the U.S. aluminium industry has invested more than $11 billion in domestic plants and operations, mostly in mid- and downstream production and recycling. Even though jobs in the primary sector have dropped, overall industry jobs have stayed steady because mid- and downstream jobs and recycling jobs have reached record levels.

“America does not face a choice between primary aluminium and recycled aluminium,” added Johnson. “We need policies that support both. The challenge before policymakers is not deciding which segment of the industry to support. It’s ensuring the United States has enough aluminium of every kind to meet growing domestic demand while reducing reliance on unfairly traded imports.”

Demand for aluminium is expected to grow about 80% worldwide by 2050 as manufacturers increase domestic production, utilities invest in power lines and new data centres, and energy projects start up. Making sure the United States benefits from this growth needs smart policies and investment across the aluminium supply chain.

Unlike steel, aluminium moves through closely connected North American supply chains that depend on a mix of domestic production, recycling, and regional trade. Policymakers should understand these unique market features and create aluminium-specific policies that fit the industry’s setup. The Aluminum Association is working with the government and lawmakers to promote a complete Aluminium Agenda that helps the United States meet growing demand for this important material.

Expand Secondary Production by Leveraging American Recycling

Aluminium can be recycled over and over without losing its basic qualities, making recycled aluminium an important raw material for domestic manufacturing. As demand grows, scrap aluminium is seen as more and more important. Today, less than half of used beverage cans (UBCs) are recycled, so we throw away over $1 billion worth of usable aluminium each year. The United States also exports enough scrap aluminium each year to make more than 9 million cars. This metal often goes to strategic rivals like China.

To strengthen America’s recycling advantage, policymakers should:

• Set limits on exporting aluminium scraps, like UBCs, in markets where American remelting capacity is higher than supply.
• Put more money into domestic recycling facilities and sorting technology.
• Promote practical policies that offer financial rewards for recycling and increase aluminium recovery rates.
• Use tax breaks to encourage domestic production of recycled aluminium.

Support Domestic Primary Aluminium Production

A strong primary aluminium sector is vital to U.S. economic and national security.

Primary aluminium serves as a critical input for defence, aerospace, transportation and industrial applications and provides the foundational metal necessary to support a growing domestic manufacturing base. The Aluminium Association supports a strong domestic primary aluminium sector and participates with like-minded groups like the Forging the Future coalition in pursuit of these goals.

To support long-term growth in domestic primary production, policymakers should:

• Support energy policies that ensure access to reliable, affordable electricity, recognizing aluminium’s role as an energy-heavy strategic industry.
• Promote a strategy that uses all types of energy sources for new electricity generation, including new technologies like SMR and geothermal power.
• Support permitting and infrastructure policies that encourage new investment and growth.
• Use tax breaks to encourage domestic production of the important minerals and raw materials needed for primary aluminium manufacturing.

Sustaining a Healthy Aluminium Market

Neither primary nor secondary aluminium production can succeed without fair and competitive market conditions. The Aluminum Association supports trade rules that stop unfairly traded aluminium from hurting domestic investments.

Policymakers should:

• Support strong and focused aluminium tariffs that fight unfair trade from countries like China and Russia.
• Negotiate a better USMCA that focuses on stronger North American tariff alignment, rules of origin, and import tracking.
• Enforce stronger and wider actions against tariff evasion and rerouting of goods.
• Keep strong programs that stop unfair pricing and unfair government subsidies.

“The future of American aluminium depends on growing supply across the board,” Johnson said. “More primary production. More recycling. More domestic manufacturing. More investment. And stronger trade enforcement to ensure American workers and companies can compete on a level playing field. An all-of-the-above aluminium strategy is not simply good industrial policy—it’s essential to America’s manufacturing future.”