Article content continued

The decision made the Washington look soft on the Russian leader at a time when Special Counsel Robert Mueller is continuing his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections to the Trump campaign, the Democrats argued.

The U.S. Treasury said Deripaska has reduced his stakes in the companies, a move that ensured most board directors would be independent. The sanctions will remain on Deripaska himself.

Aluminum prices fell about 1.4 per cent to around US$1860 per tonne on the news after soaring to US$2267 per tonne when the sanctions were first imposed in April. The prices had softened substantially in recent weeks on the expectation that the sanctions would be lifted.

Rusal — the second largest supplier of aluminum to the U.S. — will still be subject to the 10 per cent US tariffs on aluminum imposed in March 2018.

And though the re-entry of Rusal in the U.S. market will likely push prices down at a faster rate it could also lower costs for alumina, a key ingredient in the production of aluminum, said Simard. Rusal has alumina refineries in both Ireland and Jamaica.

“That’s the good news,” said Simard, whose call for a full removal of the U.S. tariffs without the imposition of quotas has been echoed by aluminum industry associations south of the border.

Though the U.S. consumes 5.5 million tonnes of the aluminum each year, it’s smelters produce less than one million tonnes, making the country particularly reliant on imports — more than half of which come from Canada. Meanwhile, nearly 97 per cent of employment in the U.S. industry is in downstream production and processing firms, that must import the metal and absorb the tariff.

“To date, American imports of aluminum worth more than $8 billion have been hit by Section 232 tariffs in what amounts to a significant tax on the metal,” Heidi Brock, chief executive of the Virginia-based Aluminum Association said last week. “Continued job growth these segments relies on a mix of domestic and imported primary aluminum, particularly coming from trading partners and allies like Canada.”

• Email: npowell@nationalpost.com | Twitter: Naomi_Powell

With files from The Canadian Press and Bloomberg