Reuters predicted a struggle between Europe and the United States for aluminum under the expansion of sanctions

The EU may expand anti-Russian sanctions on aluminum imports , sources told REUTERS . As the agency notes, in this case, Europe will begin to compete for metal with the United States , and inflation will increase. Moscow considers sanctions illegal

European and American companies will have to aggressively compete for Middle Eastern aluminum if the European Union imposes sanctions on supplies of Russian metal, writes Reuters.

Agency sources said that the EU will soon propose a new sanctions package against RUSSIA, which may include a ban on aluminum imports.

The agency compares the possible situation with the sanctions against Rusal introduced in 2018, which then provoked a sharp rise in metal prices. The “race for aluminum” will fuel inflation for Western companies in the transport, packaging and construction industries, which already face high raw material costs, writes Reuters.

Countries in the Middle East or the United States could potentially replace Russia in the EU market, whose supplies to Europe are estimated at approximately 500 thousand tons (8% of the total volume). However, as the agency notes, there will be an aggressive fight for free metal with the United States itself.

“Middle Eastern suppliers will not be able to quickly fully fill the European deficit. European premiums will have to rise to attract metal from other regions, including the United States. Premiums in the US will also have to rise to keep the metal flowing,” said Dmitry Tseres, an employee at aluminum trader PerenniAL.

Last year, Middle Eastern producers accounted for 6.2 million metric tons, or nearly 9% of global supply, according to the International Aluminum Institute (IAI). Approximately 2 million of them were sent to Europe and the usa.

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Last December, Great Britain introduced a ban on the import of metals from Russia . It included copper, nickel, aluminum, zinc, lead, tin, etc. Prior to this, in March 2023, CANADA banned the import of aluminum and steel from Russia .

Since March last year, the United States introduced a 200 percent duty on the import of aluminum products from Russia, and in April the same began to apply to products made from Russian raw materials.

Russia calls the sanctions illegal and ineffective. The Kremlin noted that the EU “is probably already exhausting the resource of those areas where sanctions can be introduced.”