Category: Government/Policy

Prime Minister Mark Carney asserted the Canadian and US governments should cooperate more closely on auto manufacturing, steel, critical minerals and aluminum.

The forced-labor and Brazil 301 actions are aimed more at finished goods supply chains, not raw metals.

President Donald Trump issued a June 1 proclamation modifying Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper. He pointed to new Commerce Department recommendations and “recent circumstances” affecting US users of industrial and agricultural equipment.

If an industry suffers from high labor and energy costs, inefficient facilities, or lower productivity, tariffs do not solve those problems. They only mask them, transferring costs from inefficient producers to consumers.

Steel imports could become even more prohibitive, facing even higher tariffs, pending the outcome of the Trump administration’s Section 301 investigation.

The tin mill trade case brought by U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers is moving forward after a key vote.

Two Ontario-based steel importers and their president have agreed to pay $19 million to settle US allegations that they avoided customs duties on flat-rolled steel by falsely declaring its origin, the Department of Justice said.

The Commerce Department's International Trade Administration recently concluded several administrative reviews of the anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs) on various steel imports. The reviews resulted in the following duty adjustments.

Unsurprisingly, the Trump-Xi Beijing summit ended without a major announcement on trade. Behind the celebratory mood and photo-ops are years of economic harm from China’s predatory trade practices that cannot be overcome in a single meeting.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the US should pursue separate, bilateral trade negotiations with Canada and Mexico instead of renewing the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Lewis Leibowitz: Recent rulings suggest courts are reinforcing legal limits on tariff authority.

The Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have sent oil and aluminum prices soaring higher. The impact on steel has been mostly indirect but hardly insignificant – especially when it comes to the costs of moving metal.

The process to reduce Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs for producers in Mexico and Canada garnered mixed reactions from steel and metals’ supply chain advocacy groups.  

A panel of steel executives said bolstering trade also protects it from the Iran war and other geopolitical risks.

OCTG imports from China will continue to face US anti-dumping and countervailing duties for at least another five years.

The agency found sufficient evidence to support the petitioners' allegations of dumping and subsidization and thus took up the case.

The Trump administration's invocation of the Defense Production Act authorizes the Department of Energy to use DPA tools to accelerate construction, expand domestic manufacturing capacity, and shore up critical supply chains – all areas with direct implications for steel.

President Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on auto imports from the European Union to 25% from 15%.

The Canadian government has announced CAD$1.5 billion (USD$1.1 billion) in funding available to help companies impacted by US metals tariffs.

It's cliche to say it. But spring traditionally brings new hope and green shoots—whether that's looking forward to vacations or increased business activity. While I viscerally share these positive feelings, I can’t help but thinking of three areas where I'm not feeling very hopeful. Namely, the US electrical grid, the national debt, and the Iran war.

I attended the SAFE Summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this week. It was an out-of-this world event – and I mean that quite literally. There were serious discussions around building data centers in space.

The US Department of Commerce has released new procedures allowing certain steel and aluminum producers in Canada and Mexico to qualify for reduced Section 232 tariffs – but only if they commit to building new primary production capacity inside the United States.

USMCA provides strong support for North American competitiveness. US manufacturing has lost considerable capabilities over the last few decades. “Cheating” by other countries is not the only reason. Nor is it even the most important reason

Core to the negotiations will be the need for a fundamental rebalancing of the relationship between the United States, Mexico, and Canada - especially when it comes to the steel and autos supply chain.

The Commerce Department has determined that allowing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) imports from a handful of countries to expire would result in continued dumping and subsidization at significant levels.

Remember the “Got Milk?” advertising campaign of the 1990s. Maybe we should start a “Got Steel?” campaign. Or maybe “Got Spot Tons?” would be more accurate, if less catchy.

No doubt, events will scramble the status quo. Meanwhile, the global systems that have prevented major wars for 80 years are sagging.

A coalition of US wire rod producers has filed a petition seeking countervailing duties on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Algeria.

U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions with the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission on Thursday.

The trade case investigating large-diameter graphite electrodes is progressing after an International Trade Commission (ITC) vote.