The European Commission is under pressure to tighten sanctions. European aluminum producers are warning that Russian metal is still flowing into the EU through third countries.

This issue exposes a major gap in the bloc’s February ban on Russian primary aluminum imports. Local industry suppliers say the cheap supplies are severely undercutting local production.

The Push for Strict ‘Smelt and Cast’ Rules

The Financial Times reports that European producers are calling for Brussels to establish a robust tracking system for that. This system would require a declaration by the importer where the aluminum was originally melted and cast. Quotas in place now only imply that companies must give out information concerning the point where the metal was processed to become a finished product.

At present Russian raw aluminium is exported to third countries. It is processed to finished products at factories and exported to the EU. This is a very handy trick that gets around EU sanctions altogether. Leaders in the industry desire that there be a mandatory tracking rule that will enable them to determine metal’s true origin.

Giving Russian metal a passport to the EU via a short detour in a third country is politically and morally unacceptable, European Aluminium director-general Paul Voss said. He noted the United States already uses this tracking system. Canada and Mexico are also implementing comparable regulations to prevent circumvention of sanctions.

Billions Funding Conflict

The stakes are incredibly high. Voss pointed out that Moscow earned almost $10 billion from aluminum exports in 2023. This enormous revenue is a direct contribution to the financing of the conflict against Ukraine. To maintain interest of buyers, Russia offers its aluminium at an 11 per cent discount below the regular import prices of the EU.

European diplomats say some EU member states, including Lithuania, have voiced serious concern to the European Commission. Lawmakers are also pushing for a ban on alumina exports to Russia. 

Alumina is a major buffer to produce aluminium and it is feared that it is directly connected with Russian weapons manufacturing. It is now about economic survival and global security to close that loophole.