The US will maintain tariffs on Chinese goods for now, Trump revealed during a joint US-China press conference announcing the signing of the agreement that he intends to eliminate tariffs [imposed outside the scope of Section 232] once phase two of the trade accord is completed. But there was no mention of the actual Section 232 tariffs, which currently force importers to pay an extra 10% to source aluminium from most overseas suppliers. That point is key for US aluminium market participants. US aluminium market participants were hesitant to rush to any conclusions on the potential market impact of the phase-one agreement alone. These duties included Chinese aluminium wire and cable products. A second trader was slightly optimistic that the positive development would support the general economy, and in turn US manufacturing and domestic aluminium demand. But Mothersole told Fastmarkets that the agreement could quell some of the uncertainty that has been weighing on investments in the market since 2018, adding that he expects greater demand for aluminium this year.