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Biden Team to Hold Off on Sanctions Hitting Aluminum From Russia

  • White House officials met with industry recently, people say
  • Russian aluminum accounts for about 10% of U.S. imports
An aluminium smelting plant in Shelekhov, Russia.

An aluminium smelting plant in Shelekhov, Russia.

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Updated on

The Biden administration is holding off for now on sanctions against Russia that could disrupt global aluminum supplies, according to people familiar with the matter, as the market grapples with already severe shortages of the metal.

White House officials met with industry representatives in recent weeks and told them there was no U.S. intention for now of levying sanctions that would hit Russian aluminum, the people said, asking not to be named because the discussions weren’t public. Benchmark aluminum prices in London retreated from record highs after Bloomberg News reported the discussions.