US adds EU, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and South Korea to temporary tariff exemption list
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced that the European Union, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and South Korea will be temporarily excluded from the 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum under the Section 232 which is set to go into effect for all other countries Friday, March 23. According to media reports, Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee that the Trump administration would base exemptions on “a... Read More
Trump signed proclamation authorizing 25 percent duty on imported steel
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation authorizing the tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, while excluding Canada and Mexico and leaving the door open to sparing other countries on the basis of national security. Accordingly the U.S. will levy a 25 percent duty on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, and the tariffs will take effect in 15 days. Trump’s authority to establish the tariffs stems from a Commerce Department investigation that... Read More
IREPAS statement on US DOC’s Section 232 recommendations
IREPAS is convinced that, if the United States imposes the import remedy options which have been recommended by the US Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross following the conclusion of the Section 232 investigation into steel imports, American steel users will have to face much higher steel prices compared to the other parts of the world, which will certainly devastate many steel-using industries in the US. IREPAS affirms its belief that free... Read More
US DOC releases recommendations for steel tariffs or quotas under Section 232
US Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross publicly released his recommendations to the president following the conclusion of the Section 232 investigation into steel imports, with three import remedy options: A global 24 percent tariff on all steel imports from all countries. A tariff of at least 53 percent on steel imports from Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Korea, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. A quota... Read More
IREPAS in Budapest: Market players optimistic about outlook for steel
The 76th meeting of IREPAS (International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association) was held in Budapest, Hungary on March 26-28, 2017. There were 107 producer representatives among the 352 registered delegates from 40 different countries. There were also 58 registrations representing 35 different raw material suppliers. At the opening of the conference, Murat Cebecioglu, chairman of IREPAS said that the steel industry has once again succeeded in... Read More