US sanctions speculation called 'irresponsible' by En+ Group chairman

The chairman of En+ Group, Christopher Burnham, stated that the article published by Bloomberg on 12th October 2022 on the US sanctions speculations was ‘irresponsible’. The group’s metal arm is the world’s leading producer of low-carbon aluminium (Rusal) and the most significant independent renewable energy generator.

The En+ Group is a multinational organization with over 90,000 employees and 60 assets in 12 countries, including operations in Jamaica, Ghana, Guyana, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, and Russia. The Group provides aluminium and aluminium alloy to metal products-related companies, major automotive firms, and aerospace and construction organizations in more than 50 countries globally.

The chairman commented, “The article is simply wrong.  We remain in full compliance with OFAC’s requirements, including the Terms of Removal agreed upon in 2018, and we are committed to fulfilling our contracts in the USA and worldwide.  When the US sanctioned RUSAL aluminium that year, the LME price jumped 29%, and there was a scramble to find alternative material by US manufacturers.”

“Irresponsible market speculation of this sort only benefits our competitors who have publicly advocated for restricting our market access but hurts the American consumer and the US economy - risking more than 164,000 direct and 470,000 indirect jobs in potentially affected downstream industries, including aerospace, automotive, truck trailer, packaging and healthcare goods, building and construction, and solar & wind power generation.”

He further said, “It hurts customers too, potentially adding thousands of dollars to the prices of cars and trucks. We know wire and cable producers are already suffering by paying an inflated price for Russian-origin wire rods with 45% duty. Wire and cable producers are vital contributors to decarbonization in the USA, supplying their products to solar and wind projects along with standard overhand-conductors.”

The Russian aluminium giant Rusal has served the US aluminium industry for 18 years as a steady contributor to the US economy, providing unavailable products to domestic consumers.

"The Company has in the past raised its concern over growing escalation in Ukraine and supported the restoration/establishment of peace in the region,” Christopher Burnham added.

The company detailed a background on the US supply of aluminium, "Domestic production provides only 20% of the total aluminium consumption. The rest of its aluminium is imported from other countries. Canada is the leading supplier of aluminium to the US. Its share is more than 60% of all imports. US manufacturers depend on imported metal as the aluminium manufacturing base in the US is over 4 million tons short of what can be supplied from the US. Approximately 40% of the shortage needs to be covered by off-shore metal suppliers. Any ban or sanction will spike pricing and lead to higher inflation in the US. The aluminium downstream and processing companies are in danger of losing their competitiveness against imported goods due to the high costs of raw materials."

“Without green, low-carbon aluminium from Rusal, US consumers will also have to depend on more expensive and much more carbon-intensive aluminium.  Aluminium is one of the essential metals for the US economy. Annually, the country consumes more than 5.3 million tonnes of primary aluminium and 4.6 million tonnes of secondary aluminium. At the same time, the annual increase in immediate aluminium consumption in the United States is about 3%.”

“The United States accounted for 12% of global car production in 2021 - so the leading aluminium consumption sector is the automotive industry (36.2%). The second largest sector of aluminium consumption in the US is packaging (25.6%).”