ALFED Parliamentary Breakfast Briefing addresses future impacts of imports and exports

ALFED has hailed its parliamentary breakfast briefing a resounding success. The annual event, which took place in September at the House of Commons Palace of Westminster, brought together representatives from across the supply chain to discuss the continually evolving aluminium landscape.

Hosted by the Rt Hon. Lord Redesdale, the event offered the perfect opportunity to explore future opportunities for the domestic market, as well as how best to navigate existing trade challenges. Alongside a presentation from Steve Andrews from ISSB Ltd. regarding the latest sector data, delegates heard from Mike Dines, president of ALFED, about how the proactive decisions of the aluminium industry present the unique ability to shape the UK’s future economic wellbeing.

From exploring the widespread benefits of carefully balancing the import and export of finished materials, to explaining the advantages of harnessing scrap to abate carbon emissions, Dines discussed the opportunity for the industry to make a profound impact on the creation of green jobs, maintain industry resilience in the face of global uncertainties and accelerate net-zero aspirations through the promotion of an infinitely circular economy.

Roger Ablett, managing director of Norsk Hydro UK, also took to the stage to discuss some of the most pressing challenges facing the sector from a legislative perspective. In addition to discussing the ongoing challenge of anti-dumping, Ablett explained why the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) should be considered with caution, as well as raising the question of whether or not sanctions on the import of Russian aluminium go far enough.

Commenting on the event, Tom Jones, chief executive officer of the Aluminium Federation, said: “Our annual September breakfast briefing is a significant event in the industry calendar. As the aluminium sector plays such a pivotal role in the UK’s economic wellbeing, we relish the opportunity to raise key issues with the top levels of UK government and discuss how best to leverage the numerous opportunities in front of us.

“It was an absolute pleasure to welcome our guest speakers and hear their views on import and export matters, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. Its important for our members to see progress with international trade agreements, so this event also provided an excellent platform to discuss the issues ahead and, most importantly, how best to collectively tackle them.