US President Donald Trump said on Monday October 14 that he will impose a 50% tariff on imports of steel from Turkey in response to that country's military actions in northeastern Syria.
However, market participants believe such a move will have a minor impact on the Turkish steel sector, because Turkey's steel exports to the United States are already limited because of weak demand.BilletA trader from the Middle East-North Africa (Mena) region said that Turkish steel producers might be more aggressive in offering billet. "The question is not in steel import duty, but in sanctions. The Turkish lira will lose value under the pressure, imports will become expensive for Turkey, scraps purchases will drop, prices will follow and will drag steel prices down," a second trader selling billet to the Mena region told Fastmarkets."Our customers lowered bids already. Today $350 per tonne fob for billet is the maximum you can get, while last week they were ready to pay $355-358 per tonne fob, " he added.Long steelTurkish steel mills concluded several deals to the US recently, and doubled tariffs may result in returned...