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    Overseas

    Chinese Domestic & Export Steel Pricing

    Written by John Packard


    Steel Market Update has been working on developing new sources to complement some of our original sources out of China. The following information is part of a report we receive once per week from two steel trading companies located in Asia and actively involved with the Chinese steel industry.

    The first note is from one of our consistent trading sources who trades not only steel but also iron ore and other mill inputs. This source discusses the higher prices in China as well as Southeast Asia and European markets due to higher coking coal and stable iron ore prices. This source believes steel prices will move higher in these markets. He also notes the selling price of billets, many going to the Turkish market for conversion to rebar and other long products. Higher billet prices will make U.S. ferrous scrap prices go higher on the export markets. Here is what our #1 trading source had to say:

    Latest in Overseas

    Commerce amends duties on pipe and tube imports

    The US Department of Commerce recently made adjustments to the anti-dumping duties (AD) on certain steel pipe and tube imports after annual administrative reviews, according to notices in the Federal Register. Commerce reviewed the AD order on imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Mexico and lowered the dumping rate for one company. Tubos de Acero de Mexico received a 1.87% dumping rate for the year ended Oct. 31, 2024. The rate is down notably from 26.1% in the previous year. The all-others cash deposit rate remains set at 44.93%.

    US tweaks import duties on Korean plate

    After an annual administrative review, the US Department of Commerce is adjusting the countervailing duties (CVDs) on imports of cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate from South Korea. For the 2024 calendar year, Commerce set CVDs of 1.89% for Dongkuk Steel Mill and 1.39% for Hyundai Steel, according to a Federal Register announcement. The rates have changed slightly from the prior year review: Dongkuk's is down from 2.21% and Hyundai's is up from 1.31%. The cash deposit rate for all other companies remains 3.26%.

    Price on Trade: Steel’s zero-sum game

    During the first three quarters of 2026, finished steel imports from South Korea increased 50.8% compared with the same period in 2025. Imports from Vietnam increased 23.4%, imports from Turkey increased 49.5%, and imports from India increased 29.5%. Those are not marginal increases. They are substantial import surges, especially in a US market where apparent domestic consumption has bounced around but has not grown since 2017. More importantly, these import surges are arriving at lower average unit values (AUVs).