EU Aluminum Import Duty Outdated, Flawed - Dubal Executive

DUESSELDORF -(Dow Jones)- The E.U.'s tariff on imports of primary aluminum is "outdated and flawed," the General Manager of Projects at Dubai Aluminium Company Ltd. said Wednesday. "The E.U. pays the highest in the world for its aluminum," Malcolm McHale said. "The future of aluminum semi-fabricators is at stake. If you want a market to be open and competitive, it has to be open to everyone," he added. The 3% duty applies to imports into the E.U. For semi-fabricated products, the duty rises to 7.5%, he said. The downstream sector consumes 12 million metric tons of aluminum products a year and employ over 80% of the people in the E.U. aluminum industry at 2,800 plants. Europe's exports of semi-fabricated products are now declining, McHale said. " The E.U. commission could and should suspend import tariffs on primary aluminum alloyed and unalloyed imports," he added. Around 3.0 million tons is supplied from European smelters that don't pay duties, and which are 70% owned by Rio Tinto Alcan, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto ( RTP), Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Norsk Hydro ASA (NHY.OS), he said. Around 3.0 million tons comes from smelters - mainly in Norway, Iceland and Mozambique - that have duty free status. A further 4.5 million tons comes from European smelters and recyclers, and 1.5 million tons comes from non-E.U. smelters which pay duties, such as Dubal, McHale added. -By Andrea Hotter, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9413; andrea.hotter@ dowjones.com