Author Fast Webs, * No change in operations if all countries assigned US tariffs: CEO
* Company reports 2024 net profits up 15% year-over-year

Rio Tinto Group will redirect aluminum sales to other countries if US tariffs on Canada become too burdensome, CEO Jakob Stausholm said during a Feb. 19 earnings call.
US President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all aluminum imports coming into the US beginning March 12, which Stausholm said would not be a big problem for the company. However, if Trump follows through on a delayed 25% tariff on Canada, Rio Tinto would find new customers.
“If all countries are getting a tariff, the impact for us is zero,” Stausholm said on the call. “The problem is if it’s only one country in the country we are selling into. But then, of course, we could redirect our aluminum to other markets and other producers will supply the US market.”
Rio Tinto produced 3.3 million tons of aluminum in 2024, according to the company’s 2024 full-year results. The company owns five smelters in Canada, according to the Canadian Aluminum Association.
At the same time, Rio has a large presence inside the US. The company owns 55% of the Resolution copper project in Arizona, while mining giant BHP Group Ltd. holds a 45% stake. Once operational, the project will be able to meet nearly 25% of US copper demand each year, according to the Resolution Copper Co. website, with a goal of producing as much as 40 billion pounds of copper over a 40-year span.
“We are very keen to invest in the US. There will be pluses and minuses, and all the production we have in the US is unlikely to be worse off and likely better off. But I really think it’s too early to conclude anything,” Stausholm said.

Profits up

Rio Tinto Group’s full-year 2024 net profit increased 15% to $11.55 billion, from $10.06 billion in the previous year, due to asset sales and lower impairment charges against its Australian alumina refineries. The company’s consolidated sales revenue, however, slipped 1% to $53.66 billion from $54.04 billion.
The company benefited from the expansion in Mongolia’s copper mine Oyu Tolgoi LLC, that helped offset weakening iron ore prices, Stausholm said on the call.