European industrialists urged not to impose sanctions against Rusal

The European Association of the Aluminum Industry European Aluminum called for no sanctions against the aluminum company Rusal, Reuters reports, citing an internal memorandum of the association.

The document states that members of European Aluminum discussed the possibility of "actively calling for EU sanctions against Russian aluminum." Nevertheless, the association recommended avoiding restrictions on Rusal, as the company's global reach makes possible sanctions against it problematic. The document notes that Rusal owns the EU's largest alumina refinery Aughinish in Ireland, as well as the Kubal smelter in Sweden.

Russian steel and aluminum are also subject to restrictions from other Western countries. The United States , in its sanctions package, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the military operation in Ukraine , introduced a 200% duty on the import of aluminum products from Russia from March 10, and from April 10, the same amount for products made from Russian raw materials.

Bloomberg wrote in October 2022 that Washington was considering a complete ban on aluminum imports from Russia. The largest aluminum producer in Russia, Rusal, has been under US sanctions for about five years.

The EU has bannedfor the supply of products from Russian steel and iron as early as March 2022. Then the embargo included molds and profiles made of cast iron and non-alloy steel; tin products ; various types of steel sheets; products from fittings and wire; welded and seamless pipes.