By examining the recent changes in the aluminum world trade structure this article emphasizes the Japanese strategies to secure the access to this metal, the effects of such strategies on the Brazilian Amazon region, and their consequences for the world aluminum industry. It examines how the specific environmental and physical characteristics of the aluminum and of the sites its exploitation influence its profitability and turns competitive its exportation. It discusses also that competition between core consumers has resulted in the weakening in the position of the peripheral exporters of raw materials.
