Published
March 11, 2026
Greg Fraley doesn’t get it.
His company makes things in the U.S.A. He hires U.S. workers to make those things. He wants to expand, hire, and grow his small, Arizona-based manufacturing company that makes aluminum parts for commercial aircraft. Yet the cost of his raw material to make those things—aluminum—has increased 72% since tariffs were imposed on the material last year. (Aluminum tariffs have increased 50%, the remainder is due to market fluctuations and other effects).
“If you want to stamp it, ‘Made in America’ there should not be a tariff on the raw material to make it in America,” Fraley, COO of FALCO, says. “This is a policy that makes no sense.”
Aluminum falls under Section 232 tariffs, so the tariffs that FALCO pays are not affected by the recent Supreme Court decision which halted tariffs under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). So, any potential tariff refunds are out of the question as things now stand, and these tariffs are still in force.
As for sourcing his aluminum domestically, Fraley would love to—but it’s simply not a feasible solution. U.S. aluminum production only meets about half of domestic demand. Furthermore, U.S. producers use their output to supply their own manufacturing operations and do not offer it for sale, Fraley says.
“There is no aluminum manufactured in the U.S. today that’s available for sale. It’s literally impossible to source aluminum in the U.S.,” Fraley says. “It’s a raw material I can’t get and won’t be able to get for many, many years—even if people started building these plants today.”
Instead, he buys raw aluminum ultimately sourced from Canada or other countries, pays the tariff, and deals with the consequences. So far, those consequences have included putting off expansion plans, instituting a hiring freeze, and dipping into cash reserves.
“We’re struggling,” Fraley says. “I’m down at least 20 percent in my workforce headcount due to attrition. We didn’t rehire when people left. I told a couple of customers ‘No,’ who had asked us to consider expansion plans—I didn’t have the money to invest because the tariffs were preventing us from growth opportunities. Ultimately, because of tariffs, I had dip into my cash reserves last fall for operations—that was a big pain point.”
As the year began, Fraley decided that the company couldn’t delay any longer—it had to pass the price of aluminum tariffs onto its customers. So, the company added a “tariff surcharge” to its 2026 orders.
“We decided we couldn’t sit by any longer,” Fraley says. “At some point in time, it trickles down to the overall consumer in some form.”
As for possible solutions, Fraley thinks it’s time to rethink the tariffs (import taxes) on raw materials like aluminum which cannot be purchased in America—and that it shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
“Policymakers should look at not putting a tariff on the raw material that we need to make it in America. It just doesn’t make sense to me,” Fraley says. “This shouldn’t be a political issue."
More on the impact of tariffs:
About the author
Thaddeus Swanek
Thaddeus is a senior writer and editor with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's strategic communications team.
