Steel importers in the United States are adapting their supply chains to maintain supply volumes in excess of two million tons per month, despite the country's tough import tariffs.
It has been more than five months since the restoration of import tariffs under Article 232 and two months since the doubling of import tariffs. from the tariff rate - up to 50%. However, data released by the Office of International Trade (ITA) indicates that despite changes in some trade flows, these measures have not significantly reduced import volumes or supported prices.
Steel imports to the United States decreased by 5.2% year-on-year, according to the latest data, for the first seven months of this year, this figure amounted to 15.29 million tons. This includes preliminary data on import licenses for July. The increase in imports ahead of the expected introduction of tariffs affected the data for the current year. In January, 2.8 million tons of imported goods arrived at US ports.
Trade with well-known suppliers has decreased
Year-on-year, there was a significant decrease in steel imports from Canada, by 22.5% year-on-year.to date, and by 43.3% year-on-year in July; Japan - by 17.7% year-on-year, 50.4% in July; and Vietnam - by 29.4% year-on-year, 27.4% in July. All three of these countries are among the top eight steel suppliers to the United States.
Among the EU countries that have suffered the most significant trade losses since the beginning of the year are Belgium (a decrease of 27.3%) and Italy (a decrease of 24.1%). However, both Germany (an increase of 30.5%) and Spain (an increase of 16.1%) increased their exports to the United States over the same period.
- This article was first published in the August issue of the MEPS International Steel Review. The monthly report provides subscribers with information on steel prices, indexes, market commentary, and forecasts from key global steel markets. Contact the members of the European Parliament for detailed information on how to subscribe.
The ITA flat carbon and alloy category accounts for the majority of the reduction in U.
S. imports since the beginning of the year, which decreased by 18.8% during this period. The decrease in the category of long products made of carbon steel and alloys was less than 7.7%. However, the other four categories of steel imports saw an increase of 8.6%. Imports of pipes increased by 9.9%, to almost 2.9 million tons, and semi-finished products - by 8.6%, to almost 3.9 million tons.
Respondents from the United States who participated in the MEPS study say that domestic needs have led to a change in the range of the most frequently ordered goods, with tariffs affecting their country of origin. Wire rod imports, in particular, continue to grow. At the end of July, it increased by 20.8% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 770
