Up until the 2000s, the US was the biggest producer of aluminum globally but since then it’s all about China. For some context, the US now produces nearly ten times less than what China is doing. And in terms of imports, the US roughly imports 50% of its aluminum from other countries as of the last few years.
In the case of steel, it’s a similar story with China being the runaway leader in terms of production ever since the year 2000. But at least the US still ranks fourth on the list in this category – just behind Japan and India as well.