aluminum

Businesses that rely on aluminum are deciding whether to absorb the costs or pass them on to their customers. To make that decision, many are drawing from their experiences with tariffs.

The metals are used in almost every industry and could reduce the cost of cars and appliances— but the impact on everyday costs like housing and groceries will be limited.

Sometimes there are real calculations behind its tariff rates. But those calculations don’t make sense to economists.

When prices go up for foreign steel and aluminum because of tariffs, domestic producers are given a sort of green light to raise their own prices.

The metals are paired as targets for import duties, but they serve different markets. Domestic steel has spare capacity, aluminum not so much.

Remember those steel and aluminum tariffs that were supposed to target China but also pulled in Europe and Canada? Most of them still exist.

The increases are seen as an indicator of strength, though they might fuel more inflation.

Manufacturer Ball Corp. reporting unprecedented demand for its cans during the pandemic, raises its minimum order fivefold.

The pact lifts U.S. tariffs on European steel and European Union duties on bourbon and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Although prices for aluminum and zinc are ticking up, Adam Schaller, vice president of a Michigan metal foundry, says business is growing.