Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: The year is now half over. The second half of the year will be even more interesting than the first. Here are the latest developments: Canada’s tariffs went into effect today, July 1. Tariffs of […]
Support is growing in the Senate to block President Trump’s use of Section 232 tariffs that have alienated the U.S. from its allies and the world, claims Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). Corker has proposed a bill that would curtail Trump’s trade authority by requiring congressional approval for the imposition of tariffs for national security purposes. […]
U.S. Steel has promoted Daniel M. Killeen to the position of General Manager Gary Works effective immediately. Killeen will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of U.S. Steel’s largest integrated steelmaking facility. Killeen joined U.S. Steel in 1996 as a Management Associate at Gary Works. He went on to work in a series of increasingly […]
Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs are causing collateral damage in the case of one high profile White House-favored manufacturer. Harley-Davidson announced Monday that because of EU tariffs in response to U.S.-imposed steel and aluminum tariffs, the company will shift production of motorcycles for EU destinations from the United States to international facilities. EU tariffs […]
JSW Steel plans to pump $500 million into its newly acquired Acero Junction steel mill in a two-phase investment. The first $250 million includes the cost of acquisition, the revamp and restart of the electric arc furnace and slab caster, and modernization of the hot strip mill. The second phase will be dependent “upon the […]
ArcelorMittal claims a new approach to construction that will create a more sustainable life-cycle for buildings. The company has launched Steligence®, a concept that looks at buildings as holistic entities where all aspects of the design are considered in an integrated way, as part of the whole. The concept requires improved dialogue between architects and […]
Turkey imposed retaliatory tariffs Thursday on $1.8 billion of U.S. goods in response to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. “Turkey is committed to active, robust and reciprocal trade relations with the US — but with the understanding that fairness cannot be one-sided,” Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said in a statement. “We cannot and […]
In testimony before a skeptical and sometimes combative group of senators Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did his best to defend the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and the controversial trade policies of the Trump administration. Despite his assurances that the process of reviewing product exclusion requests is on track, members of the […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: On Wednesday, during a Senate hearing on the Section 232 tariffs, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross offered some additional information on the volume of product exclusion requests he has received. As of June 20, there were […]
The Commerce Department’s procedure for filing requests to have products excluded from the Section 232 steel tariffs has been called confusing and burdensome by many companies, some of which have been thwarted in their attempts to file. Applications can be rejected for something as simple as an inaccurate Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code. In testimony […]
Major pipeline producers are seeking tariff exclusions for imported pipe used in pipeline projects currently in progress. Of the estimated 21,000 exclusion requests submitted to Commerce, more than 500 requests are for pipe and other energy-related materials. A report released June 18 by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) estimates 41,000 miles of […]
The European Commission announced that $3.2 billion in tariffs (€2.8 billion) on imports from the United States will go into effect on Friday, June 22. The “rebalancing measures” include steel and aluminum, agricultural goods and various other products and will remain in effect for as long as the U.S. tariffs on steel aluminum are in […]
India is fighting back against U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel by imposing higher tariffs on $235 million of American goods. The tariffs increase duties on 29 items including chickpeas, walnuts, almonds, lentil and artemia (brine shrimp). India, the largest buyer of U.S. almonds, has increased the tariff by 20 percent on almonds and walnuts […]
Commercial Metals Company net sales jumped 15 percent to $1.2 billion for earnings of $42.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2018, ending May 31. Earnings and sales increased from the second quarter due to strong demand across all of CMC segments. “The CMC team delivered outstanding results in our third fiscal quarter,” […]
A meeting of the Global Forum on Excess Steel Capacity scheduled for Wednesday in Paris has been postponed until September as trade tension intensifies among world leaders. The agenda for the ministerial meeting of the 33-member Forum was to include discussions on preferential policies that China and other countries apply to their steel industries, as […]
India’s JSW Steel announced last week it has completed the acquisition of 83 percent of Acero Junction Holdings. The remaining 17 percent is being transferred and will give JSW 100 percent ownership of the steel rolling mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio. The assets are valued at $182.41 million with an equity value of $80.84 million […]
The Port of New Orleans is one of the top three U.S. ports for steel imports, taking in 2.48 million tons of steel in 2017. Steel imports represented 80 percent of the port’s breakbulk tonnage and 30 percent of its total cargo tonnage. Turkey was the largest importer of steel at the Port NOLA last […]
The trade war with China has begun. On June 15, the United States announced it will place 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods. The announcement was swiftly followed by one from China imposing retaliatory tariffs in an equivalent amount. In a statement on Friday, President Trump said: “My great friendship with President […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: The Trump administration announced new tariffs on China on Friday, covering about $36 billion in imports (2017 figures). Two lists were released. The first list consists of 863 tariff lines that will be subject to […]
Dan DiMicco is the outspoken chairman emeritus of Nucor Corp., a trade advisor to the president and current chairman of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, so it’s no surprise he is a strong defender of the 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods announced by the Trump administration this week. In […]
Steel Dynamics is expecting second-quarter profitability to be “meaningfully” higher than the first quarter due to increased steel shipments and metal spread expansion. Steel pricing is outpacing scrap costs in Q2. Profitability has improved across all of SDI’s steel platform, but especially in sheet operations. The metals recycling division is expected to be level with […]
U.S. steelmakers filed trade cases this week on cold rolled and corrosion resistant (CORE) steels alleging that Korea and Taiwan are guilty of using the same circumvention tactics as the Chinese–namely sending hot rolled and cold rolled substrate to Vietnam. As many predicted, the Commerce Department’s recent Chinese circumvention ruling has set a precedent that […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest trade developments in Washington: • The Section 232 investigation into automobiles and auto parts is in the comment phase. The deadline for written comments is June 22. The hearing in the investigation is on July 19 and 20. If […]
Foreign-made automobiles and parts may soon be facing tariffs if the administration is successful in its investigation to determine whether imports of automobiles and auto parts threaten to impair national security. On May 23, the Commerce Department initiated a Section 232 investigation on imported automobiles and parts, noting that during the past 20 years imports […]
Nucor expects earnings for its second quarter to increase significantly compared to first-quarter 2018 due to higher average selling prices and increased profitability. Deregulation, tax reform and higher, stable oil prices have contributed to stronger market conditions, said Nucor in the company’s earnings guidance statement. Profitability increased across all of Nucor’s steel mill product groups […]
Jean Carroll Kemp may have been the speaker at the Association of Steel Distributors meeting in Chicago last Thursday, but it was ASD members who really delivered the message. The event was co-hosted by the Chicago Chapter of Association of Women in the Metals Industry (AWMI). Kemp is the Senior VP of Government Affairs and […]
Truck capacity continued to tighten and rates to escalate in June. Spot market demand increased last week across all truck types, said DAT Trendlines. Van rates were up 10 percent and average reefer rates 14 percent. Rates for flatbed trucks, commonly used to transport steel and building materials, jumped another 6 cents to average $2.81 […]
ArcelorMittal Mexico is requesting that government officials impose permanent tariffs on the import of steel slabs into Mexico from non-free-trade agreement countries. “Mexican slabs are without protection and we are working jointly and permanently with the SE to find a mechanism that could protect domestic production of slab from imports, which are impacting our ability […]
Speaking in support of the Section 232 tariffs, the American Line Pipe Producers Association is challenging recent claims by U.S. pipeline developers that they are unable to source sufficient quantities of large-diameter line pipe in the United States. The large-diameter welded pipe industry in the U.S. is operating at its lowest capacity in years—well under […]
Is Canada really guilty of the trade inequity that President Trump charges? We looked at two product targets of the administration—dairy and automobiles—to find out. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative estimates trade with Canada in 2017 totaled $673.9 billion–$341.2 billion in exports and $332.8 billion in imports, for a goods and services trade […]