This Morning in Metals: Trump Calls For $100B in Additional Tariffs on China

This morning in metals news, the U.S.-China trade conflict escalated further on Thursday, ABB’s chief executive hopes some relief might be offered by the U.S. vis-a-vis Chinese steel import tariffs and Japan’s second-quarter steel outlook reflect a year-over-year increase in production but includes uncertainty about the ultimate impact of the U.S.’s Section 232 tariffs.

Trump Raises the Stakes

The U.S. and China have traded announcements of tariffs intended to be placed on the other country’s goods, with the figures rising to $50 billion.
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On Thursday, that number grew significantly when President Trump requested his trade officials to identify $100 billion more in possible tariffs on Chinese goods.

Swiss Group ABB Hopes U.S. Pulls Back on Chinese Steel Tariffs

Reuters reported the chief executive of Swiss engineering group ABB is hoping that the U.S. makes some concessions with respect to its Section 232 steel tariffs, particularly with respect to China.
According to the report, China and the U.S. are ABB’s two biggest markets.

Japan’s 2Q Steel Output Projected to Increase Nearly 1%

According to a report from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan’s steel output in the second quarter is expected to increase 0.9% year over year.
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While several U.S. allies have thus far received exemptions from the Section 232 tariffs, Japan has not been been among those. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are scheduled to meet this month, during which Abe is expected to make the case for exemption from the tariffs.