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    Doubled S232 drives EU HR price over US, Asian HR still behind

    Written by David Schollaert


    Domestic hot-rolled (HR) coil prices edged up marginally this week, while offshore prices ticked down.

    President Trump doubled Section 232 tariffs this week on imported steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%. Recall that the re-emergence of Section 232 on March 12 narrowed the gap between imports and US prices on a landed basis. Before that date, allies such as Japan and the EU were not subject to the 25% S232 tariff.

    David Schollaert

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    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).