The restoration of US duties under Trump
The United States has suspended import duties on steel from Ukraine in accordance with Section 232 in May 2022 under the administration of the then President Joe Biden.
However, on February 10, 2025, the current US President Donald Trump issued a decree on the restoration of 25%imported duties on steel and aluminum products that he introduced during his first term as the president, this time canceled all the seizures
According to the new procedure, the currently currently operating tariff exceptions expire on March 12, 2025.
However, due to a number of anti-dumping measures, finished steel products from Ukraine are currently not supplied to the United States, with the exception of pipe products. In 2026, the export of pipes from Ukraine to the United States will be at risk.
According to Global Trade Tracker, in 2024, Ukraine exported about 100 thousand tons of pipe products in accordance with Chapter 73 of the tariff code.
For the same period, Ukraine exported 943 941 tons of iron products and steel in the United States in accordance with Chapter 72 of the Harmonized Tariff, GTT said. Almost all of this tonnage was represented by Chugun, which does not fall under the tariffs of Section 232.
And the steel produced in Ukraine, but processed in the EU, was also exempted from 25 percent duties in the USA.
It is noteworthy that European steel enterprises using the raw materials of Ukrainian origin to produce finished steel products (including pipes and profiles) were able to supply these products in the United States without paying import duties.
The Ukrainian company Metinvest Holding owns the Prometer asset in Bulgaria, which currently uses the workpiece of the maternal company to produce reinforcement, part of the products is sold in the USA.
According to GTT, in 2024, Bulgaria put 131,857 tons of reinforcement against 53,774 tons in 2023 in the United States.
If the United States applies a fee for Metinvest products, this will lead to a reduction in the production of steel workpiece at the Ukrainian enterprise Kamet Steel to a similar volume, iron ore mining will be reduced by 180 thousand tons per year, railway transport will be reduced by 400 thousand tons in year, and the transshipment through ports will be reduced by 200 thousand tons per year, which, in turn, will lead to a loss of $ 58 million per year of foreign currency revenues, and tax deductions to the country's budget will be reduced by 1 billion hryvnia ($ 23.9 million) per year, according to the Ukrainian Association of manufacturers, Ukrmetallurgprom.
According to GTT, in 2024 Ukraine put 543 241 tons of steel semi -finished products against 457,866 tons in Bulgaria in 2023.
The total cost of steel, which was delivered to the USA from Ukraine directly and through processing in the EU, amounted to $ 258 million in 2024. This amounted to only 0.81% of the total import of steel imports in the United States ($ 31.7 billion) and, therefore, cannot pose threats to US industry, Ukrmetallurgprom said.
Ukrainian government officials were ready to negotiate with colleagues in Washington and hoped that the release of Ukraine from sanctions could be provided before March 2026. However, it is still unknown whether the United States will consider such a proposal.
EU remains a key strategic partner, but what is waiting ahead?
Ukraine was also freed from all anti -dumping duties and protective measures in the EU in June 2022.
This exception was extended on June 6, 2023 and June 6, 2024. Current measures will be valid until June 5, 2025.
It remains to find out whether the EU will extend the release of Ukraine from tax for another year, taking into account other factors.
For example, on December 17, 2024, the European Commission announced a revision of protection measures against steel, which is expected to be completed by March 31, and any adjustments of current measures are expected to enter into force next month.
Sources in the market, familiar with the situation, expect that the notification of the World Trade Organization regarding new measures will be published before the end of this month.
According to GTT, Europe remained the largest trading partner of Ukraine in 2024, and the main directions of Ukrainian exports were Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Greece and Moldova. In 2024, deliveries from Ukraine to these six countries amounted to 3.38 million tons, which is 58% of the total volume of steel exports from Ukraine of 5.84 million tons.
