Short Range Outlook : November 2018
Global long steel industry in better position now despite tariffs and other issues The global long steel products market has been off balance recently, and the general situation has gotten marginally worse. One of the leading indicators of the worsening in the market is that the current Turkish spread between import scrap and rebar prices is now the lowest value observed since August 2017. The number shows a downward movement of $55/mt from the peak... Read More
US ITC votes to maintain antidumping duties on rebar imports from seven countries
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) today determined that revoking the existing antidumping duty orders on imports of steel concrete reinforcing bar from Belarus, China, Indonesia, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. Current AD margins are as follows: Country AD margin Belarus ... Read More
US DOC claims Deacero circumvented wire rod exports to the US
The US Department of Commerce announced Friday that Mexican steelmaker Deacero has circumvented exports of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod. According to the US Department of Commerce, Deacero’s exports of the product with actual diameters less than 4.75 mm both produced or exported by Deacero S.A.P.I. de C.V are “circumventing the antidumping (AD) duty order on wire rod from Mexico.” As a result of Deacero’s circumvention practices,... Read More
Canada announced provisional safeguards on imports of seven steel products
On October 11, the Government of Canada announced that it will be imposing provisional safeguards starting on October 25, 2018 on imports of seven steel products and also ordered the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to investigate whether more long-term safeguard measures are necessary. The provisional safeguards will remain in place for 200 days from October 25, expiring on May 13, 2019. The products affected by the safeguards include concrete... Read More
Short Range Outlook : October 2018
Global long steel market still in equilibrium though regional differences observed The global long steel products market still seems to be in equilibrium in terms of supply and demand. However, the steel trade is becoming more and more regional and so different supply and demand situations may be observed in various regions. Accordingly, although the overall market is generally stable, there are fluctuations seen in certain regions. Sharp increase... Read More
US and South Korea sign new free trade deal, including quotas for US steel imports
According to news reports, the United States and South Korea signed a revised free-trade deal. The US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) reportedly addresses many trade issues faced by US exporters, mainly automotive producers. The new KORUS also limits steel and aluminum imports from South Korea. According to the agreement, the United States will impose a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. Steel, however, will be subject to a product-specific... Read More
IREPAS in Istanbul: All eyes on protectionist measures as IREPAS celebrates its 35th anniversary with record attendance
The 79th meeting of IREPAS (International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association) was held in Istanbul, Turkey on September 16-18, 2018. There were 139 producer representatives among the record 519 registered delegates from a total of 52 different countries. There were also 84 registrations representing 45 different raw material suppliers. At the opening of the conference which celebrated the 35th year of this bi-annual meeting, Murat Cebecioglu,... Read More
US doubles the tariffs on Turkish steel imports
The US President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday August the 10th that he has just authorized to double tariffs on Turkish steel imports. His tweet reads: “I have just authorized a doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong dollar! Aluminum will now be 20 percent and steel 50 percent. Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” US... Read More
Short Range Outlook : August 2018
Global long steel market currently in equilibrium, though world steel output is on the rise The global long steel products market seems to be in equilibrium at present, with slightly higher freight rates. World steel production is up by six percent, while this situation needs to be monitored. If this continues to be the case for another year or so, we might experience disturbance in the supply-and-demand balance in certain areas. International business... Read More
EU votes in favor of provisional safeguard measures
European Union voted on July 5th in favor of provisional measures against steel imports under the scope the safeguard investigation launched as a response to Section 232 tariffs in the US. The European Commission has proposed a combination of a quota and a tariff as expected. The quota will be based on import volumes over recent years and a 25 percent tariff will apply for the volumes exceeding that amount. Read More