May 17, 2019 – Last night, the Trump Administration announced that it is cutting tariffs on Turkish steel imports by half, bringing the total number down from 50% to 25%. This reduction is in apparent acknowledgement of the sharp decline in Turkish imports since the imposition of punitive tariffs, and now brings Turkey’s tariff level in line with other major countries of origin.
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Commerce 232 resolution “coming soon”
According to a recent article in American Metal Market (click here; subscription required), the Trump administration is expecting to get results of the Sec. 232 investigations into aluminum and steel imports sometime before the January deadline. Steel industry leaders have urged for immediate action, citing a surge in imports following previous missed deadlines in 2017.
US Long imports drop for second consecutive month in Sept.
According to import licenses, U.S. long product imports fell 3% in September. This is after a larger 18% drop month-over-month in August. Cumulatively for the first 9 months of 2017, overall long products imports have fallen 6% over the same period last year. This drop is “driven entirely by lower rebar imports,” according to our friends at Nerds of Steel.