Millions of tonnes of material are likely to be redirected to steel markets outside of the United States if US President Donald Trump levies strict tariffs or quotas on imports after the Section 232 investigation.
While US domestic steel prices are expected to spike if the US Department of Commerce's 232 recommendations lead to trade defense measures, there are two schools of thought as to how this might affect steel prices outside of the US.On the one hand, sources from Europe, Turkey and Southeast Asia warned Metal Bulletin that if US tariffs or quotas lead to a drop in export demand and an oversupply in non-US steel markets, that could have a negative impact on global steel prices.On the other hand, while tariffs may squeeze the margins of foreign mills exporting to the US, rising demand in global steel markets this year could cushion any price drops to other markets, according to Alistair Ramsay, research manager at Metal Bulletin Research. The United States imported 34.47 million tonnes of steel products in 2017, according to US Commerce Department statistics. Should trade...