Letter to the Editor:
The portrayal of the Inola, Oklahoma, aluminum project as a cautionary tale of “populist economics” in the Aug. 22 editorial “Industrial policy meets red state politics” misses the larger economic and national security stakes.
For decades, America allowed its aluminum industry to contract to the point of strategic vulnerability. As the editorial noted, the United States has not built a new primary aluminum smelter since 1980.
In 2000, the country had 23 in operation. Today, only four remain and the country has become heavily reliant on imports. Roughly half of all aluminum used in the U.S. is imported. The result is a structural dependence on foreign sources for an essential metal used every day by the Pentagon in mission-critical equipment, as well as thousands of lost jobs for highly skilled American workers. The project in Inola is a step toward reversing that trajectory.
With planned production of 750,000 metric tons of primary aluminum annually, the facility will be the largest of its kind ever built in the U.S. and will more than double current production.
Aluminum imports pose a national security threat to U.S. supply chains and defense manufacturing; the federal government has specifically adopted policies intended to encourage new domestic primary aluminum production for this reason. Accepting dependence on foreign supply for military-grade aluminum, or any essential material, is a risk not worth taking.
Mark Duffy, Washington
The writer is president of the American Primary Aluminum Association.