However, the new metal tariffs do not cover alumina, and Hansen said his modest efforts to lobby Washington policymakers have not been very successful.
“We’re not Coca-Cola or something,” he said. “We’re not getting that level of attention.”
A White House spokesperson added that the administration hopes that aluminum tariffs will increase the country’s production capacity for critical metals, and efforts to reduce energy costs and slash regulations will also boost the major aluminum industry.
Offshoring some of the most energy-intensive parts of the decades of alumina purification process, the US uses far less material than it uses. Only four of these smelters are domestic and rely on imports on about 60% of the alumina needs.
The Aluminium Association estimates that employment in the primary minimum sector has plummeted by nearly 70% since 2013. Most employment growth lies in secondary aluminum, among “downstream” companies such as product manufacturers and recyclers. Trade Group CEO Charles Johnson said domestic industries cannot continue to expand without foreign-made primary minimums.
“We are very encouraged by some of the actions President Trump took when he took office,” he said. Until then, the downstream sector needs access to foreign supplies, particularly from Canada. In particular, the Aluminum Association and other industry stakeholders are urging the administration to allow more space from tariffs, despite supporting its obligations in China, the top exporter of cheap metals.
I can’t see the butterflies. I can’t see anything around here.
Willie Youngblood Sr., Vacherry, LA.
“That’s not easy,” said Morris Cohen, a supply chain expert at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, and said he would restart domestic metal production. It involves “it takes time and a lot of effort” and “a lot of trade-offs,” he said.
According to people living near the Atalco factory, pollution is one of them.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t let out much breaths,” said Willie Youngblood Sr.
The 67-year-old said he saw the bauxite shipment roll up from his home to the Gramercy Complex for 40 years, across the river in Versherry. Residents of St James’ Parish, including both communities, say the aerial particles at the alumina refinery contribute to many diseases.
Youngblood, who uses oxygen tanks, considers lung trouble in part to excrete plants. He said he wouldn’t hang out of his clothes to dry out as the dust on the bauxite makes everything red.
“Your car will be covered with that,” he said. “I can’t see the butterflies. I can’t see anything around here.”
The Mississippi River stretch between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is once home to slave plantations and is now widely known as the “Cancer Alley,” the site of a large petrochemical facility where regulators and activists have denounced the area’s well-documented health issues.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, bauxite refinement produces hazardous waste with naturally occurring radioactive materials along with high levels of arsenic and chromium. The Atalco plant was investigated in 2020 by Louisiana regulators for allegedly violating air quality.
If trade war juices were to raise its output accordingly, locals would suffer, if demand for Louisiana alumina and Atalco lamps increased its output, said Anrolfs, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, environmental advocacy group.
“Increasing production means more particulate contamination for people,” she said.
St. James’ Parish, where 47% of residents are black, was part of a part of rural Louisiana where voters did not return Trump with a large margin. He earned it for 1% points while gaining 60% support statewide in November.
“We need some healthy economic development, not only relying on these big polluters,” Rolfs said.
Hansen said management is dealing with concerns about dust from refineries, but he says he is always trying to become a good neighbor.
“There is no top concern in the American industrial economy that makes it a valueless business,” he said. “It was there for longer than I was alive.”
Louisiana Republican treasurer John Fleming said Trump’s tariff agenda could support companies like Atlantic Aluminum “due to less competition from overseas.” He said the state lost its major industrial employers after the North American free trade agreement came into effect in 1994.
Look, the US can compete for anyone.
John Fleming, Louisiana State Treasury
“Free trade was not good for us because it wasn’t free or fair trade,” he said. “In this case, we’re going back to fair trade.”
“Look,” Fleming added.
For now, Hansen is only trying to stabilize production levels and has no plans to expand. If we strengthened our smelting capabilities and tariffs got caught up, he said it could boost Atalco’s customer base, but that would take years.
“We think there’s a future for that, but there may be shorter-term costs to make sure that the elasticity of those industries is there,” Hansen said.
Some locals wouldn’t wait to see the refinery fare.
“I’ve been here about 15 years too long,” said Barbara Dumas of Vacherie. “I’m ready to go back home and get back to fresh air.”