THE ANGLO subsidiary Hulett Aluminium is involved in an international slanging match with the US aluminium giant, Alcoa - after being accused of “dumping” in the US market, an “unfair trade practice” which was damaging the US industry, according to Alcoa. The news has received high-level attention, with suggestions that “this latest attack” on SA exports to the US warranted SA looking for a new anti-dumping agreement being included in the current talks between the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and the US on a free trade agreement. It’s also an area in which SA must tread carefully, according to an analyst, with SA not yet having any substantial legislation in place to back-up its answering case. Alcoa’s anti-dumping case, meantime, has been tabled with the US Commerce Department and its International Trade Commission (ITC) complaining that “unfair trade practices” by Hulett Aluminium have damaged the US industry. This the Tongaat-Hulett group disputes, with the argument that the specific product cited by Alcoa makes up less than 1% of the total US market for aluminium rolled products. Alcoa’s claim that Hulett is exporting the plate to the US at well below its domestic price is also under dispute, with Hulett Aluminium stating it does not sell the specific product in SA. But even this might be shaky ground, FTW was told, with it being an accepted anti-dumping practice to extrapolate the cost from those of other, known aluminium product costs.
