Platts extends consultation on implied duty-unpaid US Midwest aluminum P1020 methodology

S&P Global Platts is extending until May 18 its formal consultation on its implied duty-unpaid US Midwest aluminum P1020 assessments and calculation of the tariff charged on US primary aluminum imports.

P1020 IMPORT DUTY: Platts is seeking feedback on a possible change of the point of origin for calculating the import duty value away from Canada, imports from which are not presently subject to tariffs. Platts currently calculates the import duty by the following method:

1. A freight factor (AFLSA00; AFLSB00) is deducted from the US Midwest Transaction assessment to derive an implied FOB Canada value;
2. The FOB Canada value is divided by 1.1, creating an implied duty-unpaid FOB Canada value;
3. The implied duty-unpaid value is multiplied by 0.1.

Platts assesses the freight factor, used in this calculation, based on the information about costs incurred during the delivery of primary aluminum from Canada to the US, including inland US freight, Canada-US sea vessel/barge/truck/rail freight and relevant loading and unloading charges.

DUTY-UNPAID P1020 ASSESSMENTS: Platts is also considering establishing a possible floor for the calculation of the implied duty-unpaid US Midwest aluminum premium, based on historical assessed values for the MWP itself, before import duties were imposed, or in reference to Platts' current CIF New Orleans duty-unpaid premium assessment.Platts currently deducts the US Aluminum P1020 Import Duty from the US Midwest Transaction Premium and the all-in Transaction Price assessments to generate the calculated duty-unpaid values for each, published in cents/lb, called the "US Aluminum P1020 (duty unpaid) Premium delivered US Midwest" and the "US Aluminum P1020 (duty unpaid) Price delivered US Midwest" respectively.

This consultation affects the following assessments, which were launched in August 2018:

These implied calculated assessments are published alongside Platts existing CIF New Orleans duty-unpaid premium assessment, which was launched in February 2018 to provide insight into the value of aluminum trading on a duty-unpaid basis in the US. These price indicators also 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 (DDP) basis, reflecting the delivered Midwest price of P1020 from all origins.

During the feedback period, Platts will continue to publish the assessments in line with the current methodology, editorial standards and guidelines.

Please send all feedback, comments and questions to aluminum@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by May 18, 2020. 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.