In his State of the Union address, President Trump told the American people and the world that the era of economic surrender is over. “From now on,” he said, “we expect our trading relationships to be fair and … reciprocal.” Trump likewise told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this past Friday that we need “fair and reciprocal trade”, noting that “the United States will no longer turn a blind eye to unfair economic practices, including … industrial subsidies and pervasive, state-led economic planning.” Simply put, we cannot have free trade if other countries don’t play by the rules.

As the CEO of Century Aluminum, America’s largest aluminum producer, I have seen firsthand the devastation that results when countries engage in unfair trade practices. The American primary aluminum industry has lost 62 percent of its production in the past five years alone.