Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
February 22, 2016
We have been hard at work on our 2016 Steel Summit Conference. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be the best conference program we have ever assembled and one of the finest networking opportunities for those involved in the steel industry. I want everyone to know that I am open to suggestions on what you would like to see (example: stronger speaker on world steel market – we are working on that). Please let me know what you liked, who you liked from past years. If there is someone out there you have heard speak in the past and you think they would be a good fit for our conference please let me know: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
We picked up another keynote speaker today as we received a commitment from Chris Oakley, Vice President of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve Bank has promised us that our attendees will not be disappointed with Mr. Oakley. He joins other presenters which include Mark Millett, President & CEO of Steel Dynamics; Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President & CEO of Cliffs Natural Resources; Dr. Alan Beaulieu, Institute for Trend Research, Timna Tanners, Metals & Mining Analyst, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Lawrence Kavanagh, President, SMDI and many more. We hope to have another announcement of a major steel figure joining our group later this week.
Save the dates: August 29, 30, 31st as we host our 6th Steel Summit Conference. Location: Georgia International Convention Center, Atlanta, Georgia. Host hotel: Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway Hotel.
We are also planning on hosting a one day Managing Price Risk workshop following the conference (September 1st). More details on that to follow.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
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Final Thoughts
From one group of folks, I’ve heard that Trump might not wait until Feb. 1 – the date he threatened on to place tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. They say he could act as soon as Friday. And then there are those who don’t think anything will happen before April 1. That’s the deadline for Commerce, Treasury, and USTR to submit key reports on “America First Trade Policy” to President Trump.
Final Thoughts
Trump made a clarification in a speech on Monday. Previously, he had declared the word “tariff” the most beautiful word in the dictionary. No longer.
Final Thoughts
President Donald Trump on Sunday hammered Colombia with 25% tariffs and threatened to increase them to 50%. Trump in a post on Truth Social said he took the action not because of a trade dispute but because the South American nation had refused to accept planes carrying deported immigrants. The president also cited "national security" concerns, just as he did to justify 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel in his first term. Even the 50% threat echoes his first term. Turkish steel, like that of most nations, was assessed a 25% tariff in March 2018. Trump doubled Turkey's tariff to 50% via a tweet in August of that year over a matter unrelated to steel.
Final Thoughts
We surveyed many of you this week and asked what you wanted to see from the new Trump administration. Responses were varied but fell largely into three groups: tariffs and trade policy, the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, and those who are concerned about too much government sway in steel. Some also expressed hope that President Trump would continue the infrastructure spending that began under former President Biden.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes new presidential administrations hit the ground running. No time for change like the present. And sometimes new administrations blast off on a SpaceX rocket bound for Mars. There’s a big universe, and we’ve got a lot of flags to plant. Such seems to be the case with the new Trump administration.