Trade Cases
Licenses to import steel tumble in June
Written by Laura Miller
July 10, 2024
US steel imports registered a steep decline from May, with June licenses falling to the lowest monthly level so far this year.
Figures from the US Department of Commerce show 2,393,640 short tons (st) of steel import licenses registered for the month of June. That’s a 16% drop from May’s 26-month high of 2,853,750 st.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/07.10.24_Imports_1-1024x633.png)
Monthly declines were seen in all major product categories: June licenses for flat-rolled products dropped 18% from May, pipe and tube products fell 12%, long products tumbled 26%, and stainless licenses were down 8%.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/07.10.24_Imports_2-1024x633.png)
While June licenses for most major flat-rolled products declined from May, licenses to import hot rolled increased 7% to 171,670 st on higher shipments from Japan.
Galvanized sheet licenses fell 14% from a 26-month high in May to 259,240 st in June – a level comparable to April’s import total. While licenses declined from the top three foreign sources of galv – Canada, Mexico, and Vietnam – hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) license applications increased from Brazil, South Korea, and UAE.
Licenses to import cold-rolled sheet dropped by more than a third from May to a seven-month low of 104,680 st in June. CR licenses were down noticeably from Mexico, Australia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
Other metallic-coated sheet imports have been above 100,000 st every month so far this year, with June import licenses totaling 135,370 st. While total licenses declined 9% from May, licenses were higher for product from Vietnam, Brazil, and Australia.
Plate imports declined notably in June. Coiled plate licenses of 82,610 st were at a four-month low, while cut-to-length plate licenses of 35,650 st were at their lowest level since December 2022.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/07.10.24_Imports_3-1024x633.png)
Table 1 below details import levels over the last three months by product and shows the three- and 12-month moving averages for comparison.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/07.10.24_Imports_Table_1-1024x877.png)
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/SMU_LM_headshot.png.jpg-150x150.png)
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Trade Cases
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/galvanized_coil.png)
Leibowitz: The consequences of a new barrage of trade cases on coated steel
Domestic steel producers and the United Steelworkers (USW) union filed a barrage of trade cases last week. This is hardly news. Ever since the Commerce Department ruled that Vietnam is still treated as a nonmarket economy (NME) for antidumping purposes, many in the business expected new cases on the product that Vietnam excels at—“corrosion-resistant steel.” Nor is it a surprise that these cases roped in nine countries in addition to Vietnam: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. All these countries rank in the top ten exporters of corrosion-resistant steel to the United States. These petitions are a broadside against coated flat-rolled steel imports.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/investigate.png)
Coated trade case alleges hefty dumping margins
Domestic mills have alleged substantial dumping margins in the trade case targeting imports of corrosion-resistant steel.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/fist.png)
US mills file sprawling trade case against coated imports from 10 nations
US mills have filed or soon will file a sprawling trade petition against imports of coated flat-rolled steel from 10 countries. The petition seeks anti-dumping margins against Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, and South Africa. It also seeks countervailing duty margins against Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Vietnam. That’s according documents dated Sept. 5 and addressed to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and International Trade Commission (ITC) Secretary Lisa Barton.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/media/k2/items/src/cbd2ad03f626e665deb71b2742b25bbb.jpg)
Steel Summit 2024: Trade issues abound ahead of election
Trade is always front and center in an election year. And 2024 is no different. There is no shortage of issues, with questions like the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel, potential cracks in the USMCA, and Chinese overcapacity dominating the headlines. But how do you distinguish between issues that might just last until November, and what are the crucial questions that could affect your business for years to come?
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/fist.png)
US senators urge reduction to S. Korean OCTG quota
https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/sherrod-brown-casey-fetterman-biden-administration-level-playing-field-american-octg-industry