Platts to reflect prevailing tariffs on Canadian aluminum in its P1020A US Import Duty calculation

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will reflect the prevailing US tariffs on Canadian aluminum in its Aluminum P1020A US Import Duty calculation and related US Midwest implied duty unpaid indicators, effective from the implementation date of increased US Section 232 tariffs.

President Donald Trump has announced 25% tariffs under US Section 232 for aluminum imports into the US from all origins, effective March 12, in addition to 10% tariffs specifically on Canadian aluminum imports, from March 4.

The P1020A US Import Duty calculation reflects material with an FOB Canada origin, as around 85% of US P1020 purity aluminum imports come from Canada, according to recent US trade data. The calculation will continue to reflect a 10% tariff for imports of primary aluminum until the implementation date of additional US tariffs.

The P1020A US Import Duty is calculated in cents/lb (MMOEU00) as follows:

- Deduct the P1020A US Duty Freight Factor (cents/lb: AFLSB00) from the US Midwest Transaction Price (MMAAF10) to derive an implied FOB Canada value

- Divide the FOB value by the tariff factor, creating an implied duty-unpaid FOB value

- Multiply this implied duty-unpaid value by the tariff multiplier to generate the P1020A US Import Duty

As an example, in the above scenario announced by President Trump, this would mean Canadian aluminum imported into the US would be subject to tariffs totaling 35%, and the tariff factor and tariff multiplier used in the calculation would be 1.35 and 0.35, respectively.

The values used in the calculation would be subject to change, should the percentage tariff rate applied to Canadian aluminum imports into the US be changed. Platts will publish clarifications regarding the tariff factor and tariff multiplier used in the P1020A US Import Duty calculation as any changes to the tariff rate are announced and implemented.

The P1020A US Import Duty is used to calculate implied duty unpaid indicators including: Aluminum P1020 MW US Transaction Premium (Implied Duty-Unpaid) delivered US Midwest (MMOFU00) and Aluminum P1020 Transaction Price (Implied Duty-Unpaid) delivered US Midwest (MMOGU00).

The assessments impacted by the change to the P1020A US Import Duty calculation include:

The import duty calculation and related duty-unpaid indicators launched in 2018 to complement Platts benchmark Midwest US Transaction Premium and the US Midwest Transaction Price (all-in) assessments for P1020 aluminum, which are assessed on a delivered, duty-paid basis. Platts DDP assessments reflect the delivered Midwest price of P1020 from all origins, and will not be impacted by this change.

Full details of Platts US aluminum assessments are available in the global nonferrous specifications guide here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/methodology-specifications/metals/nonferrous-methodology.

The decision to reflect prevailing tariffs considers feedback received in response to a consultation opened on Feb. 3 and a proposal published on Feb. 18.

The consultation subscriber note can be accessed here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/pricing-benchmarks/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/020325-platts-opens-consultation-on-p1020aus-aluminum-import-duty-calculation.

The proposal note is available here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/pricing-benchmarks/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/021825-platts-proposes-to-reflect-25-tariffs-in-aluminum-p1020a-us-import-duty-calculation.

Platts P1020A US Import Duty calculation and related US Midwest Implied Duty Unpaid Indicators are published in Metals Daily, Metals Week and in the Platts pricing database.

Please send feedback, comments and questions to metalsamericas@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.