Now that the dust has settled from the US election, as have the immediate reactions in the equity, bond, and commodity markets, this is a prime opportunity to look at how a second Trump presidency might affect the US steel market.
Import duties on rebar from a handful of countries will continue to be collected for at least another five years.
China is one of the elephants in the room as the transition to Trump 2.0 continues. While the people and policies are still being formulated, it’s possible to detect a strategy for the new Trump administration. I think there are two imperative issues that the new administration needs to balance. The Trump strategy will, I believe, follow the following points. First, trade is one of the issues that got President Trump elected in 2016 and 2024—it nearly got him elected in 2020, save for the pandemic. If President Trump had won in 2020, I might be writing chronicles about the end of his eight years in the White House now instead of projecting what the next Trump administration would accomplish or break. Oh, well—that’s life. Trade will necessarily be a key feature of relations with China for the next four years.
Commerce determined a significant dumping margin for hot-rolled steel imports from Japan's Nippon Steel.
The Commerce Department determined that, if anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders were allowed to expire, or be ‘sunset,’ the illegal dumping and subsidization of HR imports would be likely to continue at sizeable rates.
At the request of domestic petitioners, the Commerce Department has postponed its deadline for making preliminary countervailing duty margin determinations in the coated steel trade case investigations.
After a frenzied election cycle, Donald Trump will return to the White House with an amplified trade agenda.
Last week’s Community Chat with international trade attorney and regular SMU columnist Lewis Leibowitz was packed full of valuable perspectives on trade topics near and dear to the steel industry.
The domestic steel tube industry is applauding a federal appeals court decision upholding a ruling that confirms at least one importer misclassified steel conduit imported into the US.
I joined in a Steel Market Update community chat last week. Predictably, many of the questions concerned the likely results of a Trump or Harris victory in the election. Like most people, I don’t know who will win. But by next week I probably will know. Here is my take, with an emphasis on steel policy. There are a surprising number of similarities between the Democratic and Republican candidates’ positions on steel policy. In part, that is because both candidates are going after the same voters—steel workers, whether unionized or not.
September marked the lowest month for steel imports so far this year, according to preliminary Census data released by the Commerce Department.
Earlier this month, Nippon Steel announced that it is applying for subsidies under the Japanese government’s Green Transformation Promotion Act to expand the company’s electric furnace steelmaking capabilities and to convert from blast furnace to electric furnace operations. As we have said before, transitioning from blast furnace- to electric furnace-based steelmaking is a good thing […]
In this Insight piece, CRU economists explore the possible economic effects of Trump's and Harris' agendas.
The US Department of Commerce is conducting annual administrative reviews of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on certain imports of steel pipe and tube.
The Canadian government announced a remission process for businesses for recently announced tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products and electric vehicles .
China’s burgeoning exports are causing major angst all over the world. In the US, the increases are spawning calls for more restrictions on China, some of which might work a bit, but will likely cause more harm than good for the world at large.
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided to conduct full sunset reviews of 23-year-old anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on hot-rolled (HR) steel imports.
On Friday, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to continue the trade case investigation of corrosion-resistant (CORE) steel imports from 10 trading partners.
Ankara has placed anti-dumping duties of ranging from 6.10% to 43.31% on hot-rolled steel sheet from China, India, Japan, and Russia. Meanwhile, Malaysia has announced it will investigate allegedly dumped steel wire rod from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) reaffirmed on Oct. 8 what domestic steel producers have long known—the threat of excess steel capacity never disappeared and is evolving. China’s steelmakers are boosting capacity and exports, echoing the 2016 global steel crisis. There is no doubt that China is successfully weaponizing excess capacity across many industries, and the fatal damage to domestic production and national security undermines the interests of all market-oriented countries. The question now is: How will GFSEC countries respond?
The US has banned imports from a subsidiary of the world’s largest steelmaker because it is allegedly using forced labor to produce steel products.
China is challenging Canada’s decision to put tariffs on imports of Chinese steel, aluminum, and electric vehicles.
By most accounts, the issues that are most important for voters in this election are the economy, immigration, and abortion. International trade policy plays a key role in at least two of those three (the economy and immigration). Both presidential candidates recognize that trade and tariffs are an important focus. And “America first” is a rallying point for both candidates.
On Thursday, the Department of Commerce announced it would initiate investigations into coated steel imports from ten countries.
Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, says the import data unquestionably supports the fact that imports of Mexican conduit have been surging into the US market.
US presidential campaigns frequently sport an “air of unreality.” No more so than the 2024 campaign, where superlatives fly around like mosquitos. Steel trade has been a feature of political discourse for at least half a century now. Just last week, it proceeded to a new level of “unreality.” Four senators - Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) - wrote a “bipartisan” letter attacking Mexican exports of steel to the United States. They framed it as a “surge” in US steel imports from Mexico. To address this “surge,” the Senators urge the imposition of 25% tariffs on all steel imports from Mexico.
Continued highly competitive steel exports from China, amid weakening global demand, have triggered a wave of trade protectionism across major markets.
SMU has compiled a list of key dates to watch out for in the expansive trade case filed last week targeting corrosion-resistant steel imports.
The Commerce Department said imports of Chinese pipe will continue to benefit from significant government subsidies if the US countervailing duty (CVD) order against them is allowed to expire.
Ternium USA Inc. has requested a host of Section 232 tariff exclusions since the US reimposed the duties on Mexican steel earlier this summer. Domestic steelmakers, however, are pushing back.