A Langley, B.C.-based aluminum extrusion company says it will not shift its operations to the United States, even as it absorbs mounting losses from U.S. tariffs that are about to double.
Apex Aluminum Extrusions manufactures aluminum profiles used in a wide range of finished products. “Pretty much anywhere you can picture aluminum being used, we are producing profiles for our customers,” said Darren McQueen, the head of the company.
Apex has been struggling under tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The company learned this week that duties currently set at 50 per cent will soon climb further. Starting September 15, McQueen said, Section 338 tariffs will stack on top of existing Section 232 tariffs, bringing the total tariff on the company’s selling price to 100 per cent.
Because Apex has relied heavily on U.S. customers, the escalating trade dispute is taking a severe toll on the business. McQueen said more than 40 per cent of the company’s sales had gone to the U.S. market, and that share is expected to fall to zero once the higher tariffs take effect.
The impact extends beyond direct sales to the U.S. Because the American tariffs apply to aluminum extrusion producers worldwide, companies elsewhere that once exported to the U.S. are now redirecting their products toward Canada instead, intensifying competition for domestic customers. McQueen said Canada has seen a 40 per cent increase this year in aluminum extrusions arriving from Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, a surge he attributes to the lack of trade barriers on such imports into Canada. He also noted that Canada has not placed tariffs on comparable aluminum products made in the U.S.
The financial strain has already led to significant job losses at Apex, with McQueen saying the company has cut half of its workforce.
Despite the pressure, McQueen said he will not move Apex’s operations south of the border, even though relocating is widely seen as one of the Trump administration’s goals for affected manufacturers. He said the company has the capacity to shift all 6,500 of its product profiles to a U.S. location, where it could produce goods tariff-free for both American and Canadian customers. Still, he is choosing to keep the operation in Canada.
Instead, McQueen said he is looking to the federal government for help, calling for measures to prevent foreign companies from what he described as dumping aluminum products into the Canadian market.
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