Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 11, 2019
I have been very pleased with the response we have received for the SMU Steel Summit Conference agenda, which we rolled out earlier this week. I have received multiple comments about the quality of the program and speakers. Brian Robbins of MidWest Materials told me, “It’s good!!!! If not exhausting… I am thinking of bringing others this year (my buyer came in my place last year and loved it).” I am grateful for the initial wave of optimism about our program.
I have also received comments that the program has been expanded this year and the conference begins in earnest on Monday. Yes, that is correct. There is much to discuss, there is a lot of networking that needs to get done, there is going to be a large audience, so we are building a program that allows for travel in the morning. If you want to do the Price Risk Management Workshop hosted by the CME Group, which begins at 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning, you may want to consider arriving the night before. The conference program will begin at 1 p.m. ET. The first big networking event will be Monday at 4 p.m. Please note: The Price Risk Management Workshop will be held in the Marriott Gateway Hotel, not at the convention center. Everything else will be in the convention center beginning at 1 p.m. through the end of the program around 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Registrations are clicking now that the program is out. In the last 48 hours, we have registered executives from: ArcelorMittal Dofasco, Braner U.S.A., Hercules Industries, Kirchhoff Automotive, BTD Manufacturing, Tempel Steel Company, North Star BlueScope Steel, Bailey Metal Products, Mainline Metals, Webco Industries and MISA. In almost every case the company has registered more than one person to attend the conference.
I am also pleased to see a number of our members asking for details about the new packages we are offering for those companies who would like for more than just a couple of employees to receive the newsletter. You can find out more by speaking with Paige Mayhair at 724-720-1012 or by email at Paige@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Paige can also handle your renewal or set you up as a new subscriber.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, President & CEO
John Packard
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Final Thoughts
The whole SMU team is packing up our laptops and our SMU polos/cardigans, loading up the PowerPoint slides, and preparing to make the trek down to Florida for the Tampa Steel Conference. There will be plenty to talk about!
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.