Washington Cuts Countervailing Duty on Specific Aluminium Can Imports from India

In a move aimed at easing trade frictions, the United States has partially eliminated the countervailing duty on certain aluminium can stock imported from India. The Commerce Department's final review, released on September 28, states that the exemption will be in force from September 24 and will cover aluminium used for beverage cans, caps and opening tabs that satisfy predefined technical standards.

The exemption does not cover common alloy aluminium sheet or other aluminium products that remain subject to broad anti‑dumping and trade remedies. Eligibility will be evaluated case‑by‑case, based on a written technical description of the product, rather than the tariff classification alone.

The policy change also influences similar aluminium imports from a list of other nations that meet the same criteria. The department instructed Customs and Border Protection to stop applying the duty to qualifying goods, even for shipments that were pending final customs valuation.