WASHINGTON _ Domestic aluminum has emerged as a priority industry for President Donald Trump, who ordered his administration to fast-track an investigation of whether imports are jeopardizing national security.
Trump signed the executive order Thursday, eight days after ordering a similar study of steel imports.
The investigations by the Department of Commerce could result in new taxes and tariffs, Trump said.
"The American aluminum industry has been severely damaged by unfair trade. Cheap subsidized imports have flooded the market, destroying thousands of great American jobs _ jobs that are no longer," the president said.
Eight of the country's 10 smelters have either closed or reduced production since 2015, he said.
Alcoa CEO Roy Harvey was one of 14 industry leaders and lawmakers attending the signing.
"We appreciate the support of the administration to make a level playing field," he said, standing behind the president after the signing. "It's been an incredibly difficult decade, in particular with the growth of China."
Authority for the investigation comes from the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the Department of Commerce broad jurisdiction over trade affecting national security.
"Aluminum is critical to our manufacture and defense industry base," Trump said, nothing that it is used in components for military aircraft, armored vehicles and ships. "We cannot afford, in this dangerous time, to become dependent on foreign nations for the aluminum that our military relies on."
