ronniechua/Adobe Stock

This afternoon in metals news, renegotiation efforts focused on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) appear to be at a standstill, Chile’s state copper commission boosts its 2018 copper forecast and a European agency advises plane manufacturers to suspended their use of products from embattled Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel.

Benchmark Your Current Metal Price by Grade, Shape and Alloy: See How it Stacks Up

NAFTA Deadlock

The fourth round of renegotiation talks regarding the 23-year-old NAFTA concluded yesterday, but the U.S., Mexico and Canada appear to be no closer to a consensus.

According to Bloomberg, initial hopes for a quick resolution have fizzled, as talks will now be extended into 2018 (which was previously hoped to be avoided, given the scheduled elections in each country next year).

The next round of talks is scheduled for Nov. 17-21 in Mexico.

Cochilco Forecasts Copper at Nearly $3/Pound in 2018

Chile’s state copper commission, Cochilco, on Wednesday put out a forecast for 2018 including a prediction of the average global copper price hitting $2.95/pound.

The new forecast is up significantly from Cochilco’s mid-year estimate of $2.68/pound. Greater Chinese demand is cited as a supporter of the global price.

Kobe Steel Saga Continues

The fallout from the Kobe Steel data falsification scandal continues, as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) advised plane manufacturers to suspend their use of products from the firm, the third-largest steelmaker in Japan, according to CNN Money.

According to the report, EASA advised those manufacturers to find alternative suppliers and conduct a “thorough review of their supply chain.”

Free Download: The October 2017 MMI Report

A number of global heavyweights use Kobe Steel products, including GM, Boeing, Ford and Toyota, according to the report.

sittinan/Adobe Stock

The United States International Trade Commission last week announced it is launching an investigation related to the importation of something that is often considered the wave of the future: automation systems.

Benchmark Your Current Metal Price by Grade, Shape and Alloy: See How it Stacks Up

The USITC announced it launched a Section 337 investigation last Wednesday. Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 determines whether there is unfair competition in the importation of products into, or their subsequent sale in, the United States, including the infringement of a U.S. patent, copyright, registered trademark or mask work.

The investigations stems from a complaint filed Sept. 6 by Rockwell Automation, Inc., of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“The products at issue in the investigation include components used in the complainant’s industrial automation systems that bear the complainant’s Allen-Bradley® trademarks and that use the complainant’s copyrighted software and firmware,” the USITC announcement reads.

According to the complaint, the respondents allegedly violated Section 337 with respect to the importation and sale of “certain industrial automation systems and components thereof including control systems, controllers, visualization hardware, motion and motor control systems, networking equipment, safety devices, and power supplies that infringe trademarks and copyrights asserted by the complainant.”

In addition, Rockwell is asking for a general exclusion order, and cease and desist orders.

The following firms were listed as respondents in the case:

• Can Electric Limited of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
• Capnil (HK) Company Limited of Hong Kong
• Fractioni (Hongkong) Ltd. of Shanghai, China
• Fujian Dahong Trade Co., Ltd., of Fujian, China
• GreySolution Limited d/b/a Fibica of Hong Kong
• Huang Wei Feng d/b/a A-O-M Industry of Shenzhen, China
• KBS Electronics Suzhou Co., Ltd., of Shanghai, China
• PLC-VIP Shop d/b/a VIP Tech Limited of Hong Kong
• Radwell International, Inc., d/b/a PLC Center of Willingboro, NJ
• Shanghai EuoSource Electronic Co., Ltd., of Shanghai, China
• ShenZhen T-Tide Trading Co., Ltd., of Shenzhen, China
• SoBuy Commercial (HK) Co. Limited of Jiangsu, China
• Suzhou Yi Micro Optical Co., Ltd., d/b/a Suzhou Yiwei Guangxue Youxiangongsi d/b/a Easy Micro-optics Co. LTD. of Suzhou, Jiansu, China
• Wenzhou Sparker Group Co. Ltd., of Wenzhou, China
• Yaspro Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., of Shanghai, China

Free Download: The October 2017 MMI Report

USITC rules dictate that it will issue a target date for completion of the investigation within 45 days of launching one, meaning the Commission will set a target date by Nov. 25 in this case.