Trump to Order Steel & Aluminum Tariffs Next Week

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In Thursday's news conference with 15 executives from the steel and aluminum industry, President Donald Trump said he would sign an order next week to impose 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% tariffs on aluminum imports. The blanket tariff was one of the options recommended by the Department of Commerce as part of the Section 232 investigation into whether high imports were a national security threat. Trump said the tariffs would be implemented for an indefinite period, with no exemptions to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries or other countries.

The news conference included executives from the following steel firms: AK Steel Corporation (NYSE:AKS) (West Chester, Ohio), Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina), United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), TimkenSteel (NYSE:TMST) (Canton, Ohio) and Evraz plc (London, England), as well as aluminum firms Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) (Chicago, Illinois), JW Aluminum (Goose Creek, South Carolina) and United Aluminum Corporation (North Haven, Connecticut).

Imports of finished steel products accounted for about 27.5% of the domestic market in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The top five steel importers to the U.S. are Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Russia, which combined accounted for 57% of steel imports to the U.S. in 2017. These countries would be the most impacted by any U.S. steel tariff.

The steel tariff is seen as boon for domestic steel makers but could increase the cost of finished products to downstream steel users.

"A tariff of this nature would have an immediate impact on domestic steel manufacturers such as AK Steel, Nucor and U.S. Steel. By slowing the rate of steel imports, domestic suppliers would have to increase utilization rates and possibly restart some idled capacity," said Joe Govreau, Vice President Research -- Metals & Minerals for Industrial Info Resources.

Govreau said U.S. Steel, for example, could restart blast furnace capacity and 2.5 million tons per year of hot-rolled steel sheet capacity at its Granite City Works in Illinois.

U.S. steel manufacturers are planning more than 270 projects totaling about $15 billion, according to Industrial Info's Metals & Minerals Business Intelligence Platform.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.