UK Provides Model for LME Response to US Aluminum Tariffs

Aug 01, 2023

A trader uses a telephone on the trading floor at the London Metal Exchange in London.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Jack Farchy

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As the US prepares to impose a punitive tariff on imports of Russian aluminum, traders will be watching for a response from the London Metal Exchange — the home of the global benchmark price. A recent precedent in the UK suggests any impact is likely to be minimal.

When the UK imposed tariffs on Russian metal last year, the LME responded by banning new deliveries of Russian metal into its warehouses in the UK. The move was largely symbolic, because there wasn't any metal in UK warehouses produced by the affected brands.