Final Thoughts
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Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
November 17, 2017
We asked a question about Section 232 in last week’s flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire. The question was, “Do you think President Trump will invoke Section 232 and add duties on steel imports early next year on national security grounds?”
Relatively few steel buyers elected to answer this question, which either suggests they don’t have enough information to form an opinion, or they’ve grown tired of all the speculation and have moved on. The administration promised a decision back in June, then postponed it in the face of strong opposition from steel-consuming industries. The delay opened the door to a surge of imports and made the issue of unfair foreign competition worse. The Commerce Department has until Jan. 18 to get its recommendation on the president’s desk, then he has 90 days to make a decision.
But three revealing comments offered by questionnaire respondents clearly state the prevailing views on Section 232:
1) The president will act on Section 232 and it will trigger a trade war and make U.S. metal users less competitive worldwide.
2) The president will certainly do something, but it may be more of a token gesture.
3) The president has too many other issues to deal with.
In any case, the clock is ticking, and we’ll all know soon.
Tim Triplett helped with the Final Thoughts this evening with the Section 232 information shown above.
Another note regarding our publishing schedule over the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday here in the United States. SMU will publish as normal on Tuesday of this week. We will be closed for Thanksgiving and will not publish on Thursday. Our expectation is that we will publish our newsletter on Sunday, Nov. 26.
During the Thanksgiving Holiday, our website designers will be upgrading our website and improving our mobile application. The website is expected to be down for maintenance late on Wednesday and through Thursday. We expect it to be back online on Friday, Nov. 24.
I will be speaking at the HARDI Annual Conference on Dec. 5 in Las Vegas. I will be at the conference beginning on Sunday evening, Dec. 3 and will return to my office late in the day on Dec. 6.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
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John Packard
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Final thoughts
Sheet prices didn’t roar back after Labor Day. But steel market news sure came out of the gate strong (or maybe chaotically is the better way to put it). First, the nearly $15-billion proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel exploded into the news. And when I say exploded, I mean that all sides seem to be escalating things now.
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Final thoughts
Welcome back from Labor Day, from Steel Summit, and from whatever fun you might have had over the long weekend. Personally, I enjoyed camping with friends and family near Starved Rock. No one starved, there were no major injuries, and we enjoyed the many splendors of Mystical Fire. (Speaking of which, does that have industrial uses? But I digress.)
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Final thoughts
I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ from all of us at SMU to all of you (more than 1,500!) who attended Steel Summit this year. We appreciate you taking time out of busy schedules to join us – whether that was up on stage, submitting thoughtful questions, or catching up over a drink and bite to eat. Also, a bit shoutout to everyone at SMU and at CRU who made this event possible. It’s no understatement to say that we have a fantastic team.
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Final thoughts
Day one and two of SMU's Steel Summit 2024 are officially in the books. We covered a lot of ground, and the agenda sure did deliver.
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Final thoughts
The big show is just about here. SMU Steel Summit will be getting underway on Monday. Where does the networking begin? I’d say at the airport. So don’t forget your business cards. And it can't hurt to wear a company golf shirt.