The “Hay Capital of the World” may soon also be the clean aluminum capital of America.
The state of Oklahoma and Emirates Global Aluminum, which produces aluminum with low associated climate pollution, announced plans to build a $4 billion aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, an agricultural community east of Tulsa heretofore best known for its Bluestem Prairie hay.
The facility would be one of the first, if not the first, primary aluminum plants built in the United States in nearly half a century and could help the American aluminum industry transition from some of the dirtiest to cleanest aluminum production in the world.
“This is a monumental day for Oklahoma,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a written statement announcing the plans on Friday. “We are proud to welcome Emirates Global Aluminum to our state and excited for the generational impact this investment will have on our future.”
From lightweight automobiles and airplanes to wind turbines, solar panels and their support structures, aluminum is a key material for the clean energy sector as well as other industries. However, the U.S. aluminum industry has plummeted in recent decades, dropping from nearly one third of global production to just 1 percent. Remaining smelters are old, inefficient, often powered by coal and emit high levels of perfluorocarbons, chemicals that are among the most potent and longest-lasting greenhouse gases on the planet.
The product produced by Emirates Global Aluminum elsewhere and sold here would face 21% corporate taxes. This new plant is expensed against those taxes.
Factories are built in the US. If you want more factories built here you up the corporate tax rate. Invest in America.
Google AI
Yes, aluminum produced overseas and sold in the US can be subject to corporate taxes. In addition to general US corporate income tax, companies importing aluminum may face tariffs, which are essentially taxes on imported goods. These tariffs are typically paid by the importer and can increase the cost of imported aluminum, potentially impacting the profitability of US businesses that rely on it.
In addition to corporate income tax, aluminum imports from overseas can be subject to tariffs, which are taxes imposed by the US on imported goods. For example, in 2025, President Trump imposed tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.