US set to impose new tariff on certain Chinese steel products

Singapore — The US announced on Tuesday that it plans to impose a 10% tariff on a further $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, including iron and steel sections, iron cast pipe and tube, stainless pipe and tube and other steel products.

According to the list of goods that the Trump Administration released, the new tariffs target mainly stainless steel, iron and non-alloy steel, angles, shapes and sections.
However, China's steel market sees little impact from the tariff, since Chinese steel exports to the US have been shrinking in the past few years due to various trade barriers.

According to Chinese Customs statistics, steel exports from China to the US in 2017 was 118 million mt, merely 2% of China's total steel exports that year.

Chinese steel futures did not show significant movement on Wednesday. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most active October HRC contract closed at Yuan 3,952/mt ($593/mt) Wednesday, up Yuan 14/mt day on day. Similarly, the October Rebar contact closed at Yuan 3,879/mt Wednesday, up Yuan 17/mt day on day.

The Chinese steel market had already reacted to this likely measure when the US threatened to slap tariffs for first time in June, a Chinese steel trader said. He added that the steel market should remain supported given the current stable market fundamentals and continuous environmental protection policy.

The US' latest tariff comes after China levied a 25% tariff on $34 billion worth of US goods on July 6, which marked a sharp escalation in the trade tensions between the two countries.

The tariffs could come into effect after public consultations end on August 30, according to a statement from the US Trade Representative's office.


Source: S&P Global