SMU Community Chat: Imports collapse, supply tightens as 50% S232 tariffs reshape market

US steel imports have fallen sharply under the new 50% Section 232 tariff regime. Jerry Richardson, general director of CSN LLC, discussed on an SMU Community Chat this week how the market is now structurally tighter and more volatile than at any point in the past decade.

“Everybody’s down,” said Richardson. He pointed to significant declines across hot-rolled, cold-rolled, galvanized, and Galvalume sheet. Total monthly imports have plunged from the long-steady 2.0 million to 2.1 million tons to roughly 1.4 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2025. Vietnam, Brazil, and Canada are seeing the steepest declines.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held various editorial positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills since 2007. She joined the SMU team in 2022. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.