Mahoning Valley - Last month, the U.S. government announced several trade actions from Russia. Among those is a 200% tariff on aluminum materials that come from Russia. This means any supplier that buys aluminum imported from Russia must pay a 200 percent duty.

Several aluminum companies around the Valley are well-aware how much this could financially impact them and their customers locally.

"It's going to affect my suppliers and it's going to trickle down to me eventually," said Bart McGee, Manager at AM Door & Supply. "I'm not positive how much aluminum we buy from Russia so it's going to pay a large part, but ultimately it's going to affect the end user."  

With a handful of aluminum suppliers around the Valley and dozens of businesses that rely on the metal, places like AM Door & Supply in North Jackson tell 21 News the aluminum tariff will have a direct impact on the supply chain. 

"We use them for our thresholds," McGee added. "We use them for aluminum storefront doors. We use them for locks and closures, so it's going to affect the supply chain dramatically. Lead times on front doors for aluminum storefronts are going to be out of control."

Herb Schuler with General Extrusion does not buy Russian aluminum but he could see an impact on RV and home building suppliers. He added this could impact business supply down the road, beyond this year.

Places like Banner Supply on Youngstown's southside told 21 News they're still recovering from the supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. They plan to order aluminum in bulk to avoid paying extra.

Dave Marklin with Banner Supply said costs for metals have increased 37% in 2022 and the tariff may make things worse. 

BHA Vice President Mark Ramunno of NEOCC, INC. said tariffs will potentially increase housing costs by thousands of dollars for gutters and aluminum fascia on windows. He added said the tariff could also lead to additional supply chain issues.

Extrudex Aluminum General Manager Jim Schuman said he could see the price of going up from their suppliers who potentially order Russian metal because there would be less supply. 

The LME could up the price of aluminum if supply dwindles. McGee said customers have caught on to price increases from all businesses.

"Everybody's kind of picked up on this because every industry has been affected," McGee added. "They kind of caught on and they're still spending."

The tariff on Russian-imported aluminum begins on March 10. No layoffs are expected locally due to the Russian tariff.