How long will the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports remain in place? There is no way to know for sure. But supporters, including various trade and government officials, make a strong case that the tariffs are likely to remain in force for some time to come. President Trump announced the 25 percent […]
Canada will implement provisional safeguard measures on steel imports effective Oct. 25. Tariffs of 25 percent will be applied when products exceed the current average import level. The action is in response to Section 232 tariffs and quotas imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum. Canada hopes to avoid becoming a dumping ground […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: A question came up this week about production and changing tariff codes for products to avoid or minimize tariffs. Understanding options depends on the issue of how tariff classifications are changed through processing. And if […]
The cost of many products used in construction climbed 7.4 percent over the past year due to double-digit increases in commonly used construction materials, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new Labor Department data. Association officials noted that the cost increases come as many construction firms are already grappling […]
Retaliatory tariffs are taking aim at those sectors that have been the strongest supporters of President Trump. An analysis of data by the Brookings Institution reports that 6.1 percent of U.S. exports, or $121 billion worth of goods, are now subject to tariffs by China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico. The Trump administration has […]
California Steel Industries, NLMK and Evraz have filed rebuttals to objections made by U.S. Steel, Nucor and AK Steel to their petitions requesting exclusions for steel slab imports necessary for production. The slab converters charge that domestic mills have misled Commerce in their objections, overstating the current availability of domestic slab and the capacity to […]
After months of contentious bargaining, the U.S. has reached a new trilateral trade agreement with Canada and Mexico to replace NAFTA. In last minute negotiations, Canada agreed to give the U.S. increased dairy market access while retaining the Chapter 19 trade remedy dispute settlement. The new treaty, to be called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), will […]
The renegotiated NAFTA, now called USMCA (the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement), still needs to be ratified in Mexico, the United States and Canada, but it is generating a plethora of commentary, both supportive and cautious. The new deal reached late Sunday “provides certainty to financial markets and supports investment and job creation in our country,” said incoming […]
Manufacturing expanded in September, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The headline PMI posted at 59.8 percent, well over the neutral point of 50.0, but fell 1.3 percent from August. “Export orders expanded, but four major industries are no longer contributing. Price pressure continues, but the index softened for the fourth straight […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: According to Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, “we are sort of out of time” to negotiate including Canada in a revised NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). There are a few sticking points […]
I am a new subscriber to your newsletter, but I’m not new to manufacturing. Most of my career was spent working at a medium-sized machining company located in the Southeast, which specialized in production machining mainly to support automotive companies and other assembly plants in the United States. Over the past three decades, I have […]
“The tariffs are working, just give it time,” say Trump administration officials. “Short term pain—long term gain,” they add, seeking to placate the concerns of the business community. But the majority of those responding to a recent poll aren’t buying it. A survey of 141 CEOs by the Business Roundtable shows 63 percent believe that […]
The U.S. Court of International Trade has granted a request by the American Institute for International Steel for a three-judge panel to hear its challenge to the constitutionality of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. In a June 27 motion, AIIS argued that a three-judge panel is supported by a specific federal […]
Global economic expansion may have reached its peak as trade tensions pressure markets, says a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD is projecting global GDP growth will settle at 3.7 percent in 2018 in its Interim Economic Outlook. “Amidst rising trade tensions and heightened trade policy uncertainty, global trade growth […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: A rather eventful few days on the tariff and legal fronts: Final list of $200 billion in trade value of imports from China: The USTR announced the final list (“list 3”) of $200 billion in […]
Construction costs are escalating due to labor costs and tariffs on critical materials. Although declining 0.8 percent from July to August, prices for construction goods such as diesel fuel, steel, aluminum, asphalt and gypsum products have risen 6.2 percent since the beginning of the year, said the Associated General Contractors of America in a recent […]
This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Carbon steel tubular products have a rate of price escalation much higher than plastic products. This is also […]
AK Steel co-hosted Steel Market Update’s first Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength & Other New Steels workshop this week at the $36 million AK Research and Innovation Center opened last year in Middletown, Ohio. The beautiful 135,000-square-foot facility made AK Steel’s commitment to R&D readily apparent to the 40+ students and staff assembled […]
The Commerce Department published new regulations taking effect on Tuesday that make significant changes in product exclusion requests for the steel and aluminum tariffs. According to reports, the notice will be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, Sept. 11. The revised rules allow for comments rebutting industry objections (with 7 days after the 30-day […]
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products from Canada and Mexico are back in the spotlight now that NAFTA talks are, hopefully, nearing an end. Steel associations from Canada and Mexico are calling for the tariffs to be terminated while the negotiations are under way. Mexican association Canacero has stated that a NAFTA deal […]
What is in the nation’s best interest when it comes to international trade? Are the Trump administration trade policies the best approach? Speaking at the Steel Market Update Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta on Aug. 27, a spokesperson for the domestic steel industry and a Washington trade attorney offered sharply contrasting views. The Steel Manufacturers […]
Global manufacturing was subdued in August said J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was at a 21 month low of 52.5 in August, down 0.3 points from July. “August PMI data signaled a slight firming in global manufacturing output growth to a solid pace at near three percent annualized,” said […]
Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine will move part of U.S. automotive parts production to Mexico to avoid steel import tariffs. Voestalpine has 48 U.S. sites that primarily use domestic steel but about one third of company revenue relies on plate and specialty imported steels that are not produced in the United States. U.S. production accounts for one […]
Automotive sales remained healthy in August with most automotive manufacturers reporting at least moderate sales growth year-over-year. FCA US led sales with an increase of 10 percent for August. Ford sales were up 4.1 percent and Hyundai 6.0 percent. Toyota sales dropped 2 percent. Sales for German automaker Volkswagen inched up 0.7 percent while Mercedes-Benz […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I am just back from Atlanta, where I attended the SMU Steel Summit. I was pleased to be able to speak to many steel industry folks concerned about the steel tariffs, the China tariffs and […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I am just back from Atlanta, where I attended the SMU Steel Summit. I was pleased to be able to speak to many steel industry folks concerned about the steel tariffs, the China tariffs and […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: After months of complaints, hearings, letters, denials, approvals and delay, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security published new rules on processes, criteria and time limits for specific product exclusions under the President’s Proclamations […]
Table 1 summarizes the August prices of the five materials considered in this report and the month/month, three months/three months and year/year change. In the last month, coking coal FOB Australia’s East Coast eked out a small gain as the other four experienced price declines. At the Jackson Hole meeting of the Fed on Friday, […]
Recent price changes have been mixed for steelmaking commodities. In the last three months, coking coal and iron ore have trended up as pig iron, scrap and zinc have trended down. Table 1 summarizes the September prices of the five materials considered in this report and the month/month, three months/three months and year/year change. Iron […]
The steel market is watching and waiting to see if President Trump will hit other countries with higher tariffs as he did with Turkey. If he does, the majority of observers will not be surprised. Indeed, more than 60 percent of the steel executives responding to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire expect further […]