US Senate passes USMCA trade deal
The US Senate passed the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement Thursday in an 89-10 vote, with the legislation now bound for the US President Donald Trump to sign. Read More
US signs phase one trade deal with China
The White House has announced that the US has signed the phase one trade agreement with China. As a part of the new agreement, China has pledged to increase imports of American goods and services by at least $200 billion over the next two years, and the trajectory is expected to continue even after 2021. China has also agreed to purchase between $40 and $50 billion in American agricultural goods each year for two years., According to the agreement,... Read More
US DOC raises preliminary antidumping duty rates for Mexican rebar
The US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced new preliminary antidumping duties against reinforcing bar imports from Mexico after an administrative review. During the review period of Nov. 1, 2017 to Oct. 31, 2018, Mexican reinforcing bar producers Deacero and Grupo Simec were found to have made sales of reinforcing bar at less than normal value. As such, the DOC has issued higher preliminary dumping margins for both companies, along with all other... Read More
US announced new sanctions on Iran
The Trump administration announced today new sanctions on Iran, with specific sanctions against the country’s largest iron and steel manufacturers. “The President is issuing an executive order authorizing the imposition of additional sanctions against any individual owning, operating, trading with, or assisting sectors of the Iranian economy including construction, manufacturing, textiles, and mining,” US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told... Read More
Short Range Outlook : January 2020
Global longs market appears in better shape, with sentiment also improving The global long steel products market is surely in a better shape today although we have yet to emerge from a slow-activity period due to the holidays in Europe and around the globe. However, real sentiment in the market is pretty positive, especially after the announcement that a trade deal between the US and China will be signed. That said, we have to keep in mind the possibility... Read More
US not to pursue tariffs on Brazilian steel
Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro announced on social media following a conversation he had with Donald Trump that the US President has decided not to pursue tariffs on Brazilian steel. The US was threatening to reimpose the 25 percent safeguard duty on imports of Brazilian steel and the 10 percent tax on imports of ex-Brazil aluminium. No official document has yet been released by the US on the issue. Read More
The US has reinstated tariffs on all steel imports from Brazil and Argentina
The US has reinstated tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina with immediate effect, on currency issues, US President Donald Trump tweeted earlier today. The Trump administration imposed a blanket 25% tariff on all steel imports, and of 10% on all aluminum imports, in March 2018 under Section 232 legislation,. Later in June 2018, the restrictions on Brazil and Argentinian steel and aluminum were converted to a quota system.... Read More
Short Range Outlook : November 2019
Confusing environment prevails in global long steel products market The current environment in the global long steel products market is confusing. The raw material for blast furnaces is becoming cheaper, while ferrous scrap is getting more expensive and we observe increasing prices for both reinforcing bars and hot rolled coils. Customers are making inquiries for longer than they normally should, and mills are incurring greater losses than they can... Read More
US DOC initiates circumvention inquiry into Mexican rebar
The US Department of Commerce announced the initiation of a circumvention inquiry into imports of steel concrete reinforcing steel bar from Mexico, to determine if imports of reinforcing bars that are bent at one or both ends circumvent the existing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders. In 2018, imports of reinforcing bars from Mexico were valued at an estimated $51 million. The inquiry was initiated in response to requests from... Read More
IREPAS in Duesseldorf : Changing trade flows and market challenges discussed against backdrop of protectionism, trade conflicts and depressed conditions
The 81st meeting of IREPAS (the International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association) was held in Duesseldorf, Germany on September 22-24, 2019 in conjunction with the SteelOrbis Fall’19 Conference. There were 138 producer representatives among the 426 registered delegates from a total of 46 different countries. There were also 78 registrations representing 38 different raw material suppliers. At the opening of the conference, Murat Cebecioglu,... Read More