As of March 23, it has been a full year since US President Donald Trump's administration imposed tariffs against imported steel and aluminium under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the president to place restrictions on imports on national security grounds.
Trump's trade measures have drawn criticism from several US trading partners who argue that these actions violate existing US commitments under multilateral and bilateral or regional trade agreements. Those countries have imposed tariffs on US exports in retaliation. Meanwhile, Congress continues to actively examine and debate the tariffs, and several bills have been introduced that aim to restrict or revise Section 232.On the first anniversary of the Section 232 duties, Fastmarkets AMM takes a look at the results of the program, its impact on the US and global economy, and its legal implications. What has transpired in the past 12 months The price of hot-rolled coil, a leading pricing indicator for the steel market, reached a nearly 10-year peak in July last year. From October 2017 to July 2018, Fastmarkets AMM's daily US Midwest HRC index soared by 56.3%, climbing to $45.84 per hundredweight ($916.80 per short ton) from $29.33...