Hacker News Reader

Well,

If the aluminum they're getting is worth more than they're paying for it, they want to buy and export as much as possible. They then store it until they can sell it at the appropriate price. Especially considering that you'd assume the loophole is going to close sooner or later.

If you're taking a protectionist view of their manufacturing business, China relaxing duties on finished goods would make sense. It's unclear (to me anyway) that that decision was made with the intent to spur raw aluminum exports vs some clever guys putting two and two together.

And yes, in case the loophole closes. These guys may have been the largest operation that some guy flew a plane over but they probably weren't the only ones.

a guess: in case China closes the loophole.