America Had 24 Aluminum Smelters - Now Only 4 Run, And Americans Pay The 50% Tariff

In 2000, the United States had 24 aluminum smelters running. Today, according to the Wall Street Journal, it has four. One of the closed ones, in Hawesville, Kentucky, was sold in 2026 to become an AI data centre. Meanwhile, nine Canadian smelters, eight of them in Quebec, keep running on hydroelectric power, and one of them, Alouette in Sept-Îles, makes almost as much aluminum as the entire United States. We look at where America's aluminum comes from, why electricity decides everything, what the 50% Section 232 tariff did to the Midwest premium, and who actually paid for it, from Molson Coors to Ford, plus America's comeback plans in South Carolina, Missouri and Oklahoma. ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 24 to 4 0:59 The metal 2:23 Why Quebec 3:55 America's smelters 5:18 The tariff 6:51 Who pays 7:47 Canada's side 9:22 The comeback 10:38 The fair side 12:05 The recap 📚 SOURCES • US Geological Survey — Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (Aluminum); Mineral Industry Surveys (Dec 2025) • The Wall Street Journal (Oct 27, 2026), via SBS News • Rio Tinto — Half-year results 2026 (Form 6-K) • Government of Canada — ISED news release (Oct 23, 2026) • S&P Global Platts — Midwest premium; Packaging Dive (Mar 2026) • Century Aluminum — 10-K 2025, Q2 2026 earnings call; CRU Aluminum Market Update • Reuters — Molson Coors (Feb 2026), Ford tariff relief (Apr 2026) • The Canadian Press / Globe and Mail (June 2026) — Aluminium Association of Canada • Bloomberg (Aug 20, 2026); EU CBAM (Jan 1, 2026) 💬 Did you know your aluminum came from Canada? Tell me in the comments.