Alcoa CEO predicts Trump aluminum tariffs will cost 100,000 jobs

Bill Oplinger, CEO of Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer Alcoa, warned Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s 25% import tax on aluminum could kill off around 100,000 U.S jobs.

“This is bad for the aluminum industry in the U.S. It’s bad for American workers,” Oplinger told the crowd at a metals and mining conference in Florida, multiple outlets reported.

He estimated the aluminum industry, itself, would lose 20,000 and another 80,000 jobs in supporting sectors would be lost.

In total, the aluminum industry employs 164,000 workers in the U.S. and indirectly supports another 272,000 with jobs in mining, construction and manufacturing, according to the Aluminum Association.

Trump announced the aluminum tariff earlier this month, along with a 25% tariff on imported steel, in an effort to boost domestic production of the two metals.

In a statement earlier this month the White House defended the move, pointing to tariffs imposed on aluminum imports during Trump’s first term in office the administration said boosted domestic production from 40% to 61% of American capacity.

The statement also pointed to a number of economic studies that concluded tariffs work in reducing foreign imports while boosting domestic production with little impact on prices to consumers.

Oplinger said the tariffs, alone, won’t boost aluminum production in the country, which has declined by 82% since 2000, though a cheaper supply of power might.

Aluminum Association President and CEO Charles Johnson previously said in a statement the protections for domestic manufacturers are appreciated, but more smelting capacity is needed in the U.S. to meet demand for aluminum.

Alcoa, for one, recently ended or curtailed production at facilities in Pennsylvania, Washington and Indiana.

More than 1,000 employees were let go in the process, adding to decades of job losses at the company.

Today, Alcoa employs around 13,000 people worldwide, including hundreds at its North Shore headquarters and Upper Burrell technical center.

Oplinger did not address possible tariff-driven job losses at his company.

The tariffs are planned to take effect March 12.

In 2018, during his first term, Trump instituted a blanket 10% aluminum tariff and 25% steel tariffs. Allies like Australia, Canada and Mexico managed to negotiate carve-outs.

Much of Alcoa’s products are made in Canada and shipped into the U.S, according to Oplinger. That’s part of why the company is lobbying the Trump administration to once again grant Canada an exemption on metal sent across its southern border, he said.

This time, Trump has shown no signs of backing off from the tax’s universal nature.

“This is a big deal, the beginning of making America rich again,” he said as he signed the tariff orders in the Oval Office.

Oplinger said the back-and-forth nature of American politics means a single administration’s trade policy can only go so far for his company, though.

“We make decisions around aluminum production that are a horizon of 20 to 40 years,” he said. “We would not be making an investment in the United States based on a tariff structure that could be in place for a much shorter period of time.”