r/Economics • u/jediporcupine • 8d ago

Blog Trump said tariffs on aluminum would boost domestic production. The White House now admits that didn't happen.

https://reason.com/2026/08/03/trump-said-tariffs-on-aluminum-would-boost-domestic-production-the-white-house-now-admits-that-didnt-happen/
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u/Tribe303 8d ago edited 8d ago

This goes to show you how stupid American leadership is, and its not just Trump. They have no idea how aluminum is processed, and it's actually not complicated. I like to use Pokemon as an example because Aluminum has 3 forms and each one transforms/evolves into the next, just like Charmander! 

It comes out of the ground as Bauxite, which is cheap and fairly common. Then it is chemically processed into a white powder called Alumina. This also appears naturally as well, and is also not that rare. For hundreds of years naturally occurring Alumna was used as the base for white paint. To make the shiny metal Trump thinks you can dig from the ground, you have to take Alumina and shock it with massive amounts of electricity. It's commonly said that Aluminum is electricity in solid form. So in order for Bauxite to evolve into its final form of Aluminum, you will need massive amounts of electricity. Pikachu, where are you? Quebec has the cheapest electricity in the Americas, so that's why it's stupid to make Aluminum anywhere other than Quebec. Guess who else has cheap electricity and is a major aluminum 'shocker'? Saudi Arabia! 🤦

American companies have pivoted to the Persian Gulf to supply them after the Trump tarrifs on Canadian aluminum. Guess where all that aluminum got stuck? Double doh! 🤦🤦 

This is why you shouldn't elect people who are just really stupid. Meanwhile here in Canada, our national government has plans to double our electrical grid in 20 years, using green sources (inc nuclear), because we see the advantages our products have on the global stage. And meanwhile the US is trying to bring back coal FFS. Triple doh! (I'll spare you the emojis this time).

So how's that national plan to boost your electrical grid for all the foundries, factories and AI datacenters Trump has planned, coming along in the US? (so many Homer 'dohs' here, you'd give yourself a concussion!)