Features
SMU Week in Review: March 31 - April 6
Written by Stephanie Ritenbaugh
April 5, 2025
The constant flow of information we all receive can be a bit overwhelming, but SMU is here to help with a weekly snapshot.
And… this week there are more tariffs. But, before that, here’s some late-breaking news from Friday.
The US Commerce Department released preliminary anti-dumping margins in a trade case targeted imports of coated flat-rolled steel, or CORE, from 10 countries. Certain countries and mills were hammered while others were largely spared. We have the details.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” arrived on April 2, announcing reciprocal tariffs of 10%-49% on imports. But there are some very important exceptions: The United States’ USMCA partners, Canada and Mexico, are excluded from the reciprocal tariffs for now. In addition, steel, aluminum, as well as autos and auto parts are excluded from the reciprocal tariffs. That’s because they are already subject to Section 232 tariffs.
As you can imagine with something this sweeping, there are a lot of opinions. US steel trade groups representing mills had a far more positive reaction to Trump’s latest taxes than the leading recycled metals association. The American Iron and Steel Institute and Steel Manufacturers Association were widely supportive of the president’s measures on imports. But others are bracing for impact.
Still, quite frankly, tracking products at the border can be complicated, as our sister publication Aluminum Market Update, points out. The bottom line: keep your receipts.
Surveys
SMU’s Buyers’ Sentiment Indices declined. Current sentiment stands at its lowest level since the beginning of the year. Future sentiment is at its lowest level in nearly two years. And, SMU’s Current Scrap Buyers’ Sentiment Index remained flat this month, while the Future Sentiment Index declined. We have more details in the links above.
The week ahead highlights
Wednesday, April 9: Algoma Steel CEO Michael Garcia will be the featured guest on SMU’s Community Chat webinar at 11 a.m. ET. Register for free to join the timely conversation.
Thursday, April 10: Consumer price index
Friday, April 11: Producer price index
Stephanie Ritenbaugh
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Final Thoughts
Even before the news about Mexico, I didn’t want to overstate the magnitude of the change in momentum. As far as we could tell, there hadn’t been a frenzy of new ordering following President Trump’s announcement of 50% Section 232 tariffs. But higher tariffs had unquestionably raised prices for imports, which typically provide the floor for domestic pricing. We’d heard, for example, that prices below $800 per short ton for hot-rolled (HR) coil were gone from the domestic market – even for larger buyers.