Are the markets’ fears of a trade war exaggerated or are their concerns justified? Popular economist Alan Beaulieu, president of ITR Economics, offers the following macroeconomic perspective: Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum coming into the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and the EU are a hot topic, and with good reason. The extension of […]
April apparent steel supply fell 1.1 percent over March to 9,829,298 net tons, according to the data released late last week. Although down this month, supply remains strong in comparison to the last three years or so. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total […]
I am finally home long enough to gather my thoughts and hopefully get back to providing some insights into the flat rolled, plate and scrap markets from my perspective. There is obviously a lot of uncertainty connected to the Section 232 tariffs in both steel and aluminum. The Trump administration appears to have an intense […]
A new wrinkle has been revealed for those manufacturers seeking exclusions for steel and aluminum products from Brazil, South Korea and Argentina. The three countries, which have agreed to quotas in lieu of tariffs, are not eligible for any product exemptions. A spokesperson for the Commerce Department confirmed the restriction in an email to Inside […]
U.S. steel exports in April 2018 totaled 861,004 net tons (781,091 metric tons), down 0.9 percent from the month before, but up 0.4 percent from April 2017. Total exports have averaged around 835,000 tons over the last few months. The total April export figure is above the three-month moving average (average of February 2018, March […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following update on trade events in Washington: Canada, Mexico and the nations in the European Union threatened to retaliate against Trump administration tariffs they consider grossly unfair and, true to their word, have announced tariffs of their own on a host of exports […]
Global manufacturing was at a nine-month low in May, according to data from J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit, in association with ISM and IFPSM. The composite Global Manufacturing PMI dipped to 53.1 from 53.5 in April. The second-quarter PMI average shows “mild growth deceleration” compared to the first quarter, said J.P. Morgan. The U.S. outperformed […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following update on trade events in Washington: As briefly stated by the Trade Commissioner of the European Union, Cecilia Malmstrom, “Today is a bad day for world trade.” Malmstrom was referring to the announcement by President Trump that the 25 percent tariffs on steel […]
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has made it official—there will be no tariff exemptions for Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. In a briefing on Thursday, Ross said the tariffs of 25 percent on imports of steel and 10 percent on imports of aluminum will go into effect at midnight. Argentina, Brazil, Australia and South Korea […]
The Trump administration’s announcement today that it would not spare its closest trading partners from the 25 percent tariff on steel imports surprised many in the market. Effective at midnight, steel from Canada, Mexico and the EU countries will be subject to the same penalty as exports from China and other so-called “bad actors.” Steel […]
The American Institute for International Steel, a trade group representing foreign steelmakers, said it is deeply disappointed the Trump administration has decided to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU, Canada, and Mexico. “Make no mistake: restricting the raw material supply in the U.S. and imposing tariffs on imports from our closest […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following update on trade issues in Washington, including China, NAFTA, and a new Section 232 investigation on automotive imports: • The White House reported that 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of imports from China will be announced by June 15, and […]
The Canada Border Services Agency initiated an investigation on May 25 into the dumping and subsidizing of certain cold-rolled steels in coils or cut lengths from China, South Korea, and Vietnam. The investigation was prompted by a complaint from ArcelorMittal Dofasco. Cold rolled imports under the investigation increased from 85,075 metric tons in 2015 to […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of April 2018, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in April totaled 82,920,000 metric tons, a decrease of 3.3 percent from the previous month, but an increase of 0.8 percent from […]
What are the potential long-term implications of the Trump administration steel tariffs, in particular their effects on rerollers in the United States? Steel Market Update canvassed steel executives this week for their views on current market conditions, and the impact of the tariffs on pricing and availability clearly remains a source of concern. “I buy […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers an update on the latest developments in Washington: • Circumvention—On Thursday, the Commerce Department issued its long-awaited final determination in an anticircumvention inquiry under the antidumping and countervailing duty laws of the United States. The issue was whether cold-rolled and corrosion-resistant (CORE) flat rolled steel […]
Lewis Leibowitz, a trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following update on trade issues in Washington affecting the steel industry: • Section 301 Hearing on Proposed Tariffs: On May 16, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office will kick off three days of hearings on the proposed Section 301 tariffs on China announced […]
March was a strong month for both steel mill shipments and demand for rolled steel products, but this was partly a seasonal effect. This conclusion is based on Steel Market Update’s analysis of data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce. March was a good month for both […]
March apparent steel supply rose 13.2 percent over February to 9,935,479 net tons, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel exports. This is the […]
U.S. steel exports in March totaled 868,854 net tons (788,212 metric tons), up 7.9 percent from the month before, but down 8.4 percent from March 2017. Total exports have averaged 800,000-820,000 tons over the last few months. The total March export figure is above the three-month moving average (average of January 2018, February 2018 and […]
Thailand was granted a tariff exemption for steel pipe exports to the United States, but only on a shipment basis, said Wanchai Varavithya, deputy director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department. Said Wanchai, “Although the U.S. Department of Commerce has yet to grant a waiver on import tariffs for all shipments from Thailand, exporters […]
Ferrous scrap prices have declined a bit in May, reported Steel Market Update sources, due to weakness in the export market and warmer spring weather that aided scrap collection and boosted supplies. Looking ahead to June, sources expect further change, but they disagree on the degree and direction. In the Ohio Valley, prices declined, but […]
Total rolled steel product imports in April were the highest since last June and semi-finished imports were the highest since October 2014 as offshore mills hurried to ship steel ahead of the tariffs that were expected to take effect May 1. Total rolled steel product imports in April were up by 17.0 percent from March’s […]
Trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz has been gracious in offering our readers his take on trade issues on almost a daily basis. With the wide variety of trade issues confronting U.S. companies it is very difficult to stay on top of those that might affect your company, either today (such as Section 232 tariffs, AD/CVD duties) […]
Argentina and South Korea will be exempt from Section 232 tariffs in exchange for agreeing to quotas on steel and aluminum products. Argentina’s steel quota will be 135 percent of the average of Argentine steel exports during the past three years. The quota will allow the import of about 180,000 tons of steel per year […]
Brazil says it will agree to quotas on finished and semi-finished steel exports to the U.S. in return for exemption from the 25 percent Section 232 tariffs, according to Inside U.S. Trade. Brazil is the latest country to capitulate to U.S. demands, agreeing to a quota of 70 percent of its three-year average exports of […]
Global manufacturing started second quarter with a small hop rather than a jump. The JPMorgan Global PMI posted 53.5 in April, up slightly from March’s six-month low of 53.3. “April PMI data signaled a marginal pick-up in the rate of expansion of the global manufacturing sector, the first growth acceleration seen since the turn of […]
Nations all over the globe, including the United States, blame China for its wanton overproduction of steel and predatory trade practices such as dumping and intellectual property theft. But veteran steel analyst Chuck Bradford of Bradford Research in New York sees the Chinese becoming less of a threat to free trade over time. Recently back […]
GDP growth slowed in the first quarter, but on a trailing 12-month basis has improved for the last seven quarters, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of government data. The first estimate of GDP in the first quarter was 2.32 percent, down from 2.87 percent in Q4 2017. Economy.com reported: “U.S. GDP growth moderated […]
Steel Market Update’s scrap sources expect ferrous scrap prices to drop by at least $10-$20 per ton in May, and possibly as much as $30-$40 per ton, as spring weather increases the scrap flows and boosts supply. Adding to the downward pressure on prices, they report, is weakness in the global market. One dealer in […]