Articles in Category: Imports

This morning in metals news: the US Court of International Trade issued a Section 232-related ruling; General Motors announced the manufacturing locations of its first-ever Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup and GMC Hummer EV SUV; and, lastly, top copper producer Chile closed borders.

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USCIT rules in favor of plaintiff in Section 232 derivatives case

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The US Court of International Trade (USCIT) has typically rejected challenges to former President Donald Trump’s Section 232 tariffs.

This week, however, the court ruled in favor of a plaintiff who contested Trump’s expansion of the tariffs to cover steel and aluminum derivatives.

With Proclamation 9980 on Jan. 24, 2020, Trump expanded the Section 232 duties to cover steel and aluminum derivatives.

In this case, PrimeSource Building Products Inc. contested the duties.

“To declare Proclamation 9980 invalid, we must find ‘a clear misconstruction of the governing statute, a significant procedural violation, or action outside delegated authority,'” the USCIT explained. “Because the President issued Proclamation 9980 after the congressionally-delegated authority to adjust imports of the  products addressed in that proclamation had expired, Proclamation 9980 was action outside of delegated authority.”

The USCIT awarded summary judgment to PrimeSource on the second count of its complaint.

“As relief on this claim, we will declare Proclamation 9980 invalid as contrary to law and, on that basis, direct that the entries affected by this litigation be liquidated without the assessment of duties pursuant to Proclamation 9980, with refund of any deposits for such duty liability that may have been collected pursuant to Proclamation 9980,” the court stated in its conclusion.

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The copper market saw a near doubling in prices over the last year.

Copper fell to an LME low in March 2020 of $4,371 per metric ton. Fast forward to this year, however, and it closed at $8,764 prior to this past weekend.

But anyone following the copper market will know that even that price is off a late February high of over $9,600.

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Copper market ups and downs

So why has the price dropped back so significantly from its high?

Is this just a pause before forging higher, as Citi Bank would have us believe?

In a recent report, Citi said it expects the metal to fetch $10,000 per metric ton “sooner rather than later” on the basis of a tight supply market. Furthermore, Citi forecast a return to over $9,000 over the next three months and to $10,000 between 6-12 months out.

But a Reuters column by Andy Home offers a more cautious analysis. Home suggests the rapid rise last year and into this was the result of an unexpectedly strong rebound in Chinese manufacturing. As a result, that prompted a surge in imports of refined metal.

Strong investor interest and supply chain restocking abetted price rises. Investors bought into the electrification story and demand from strong electric vehicle (EV) sales. They bought into Citi’s supply constraints, with mine supply hampered by ongoing pandemic restrictions and the longer-term narrative of falling grades and lack of new mine investment.

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This morning in metals news: the US steel capacity utilization rate ticked up to 77.9% last week; Novelis announced new sustainability targets; and the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) issued a ruling on seamless carbon and alloy steel standard, line and pressure pipe.

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US steel capacity utilization hits 77.9%

US steel capacity utilization rose to 77.9% for the week ending April 3, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported. Steel capacity utilization for the previous week reached 77.6%.

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Production during the week totaled 1.77 million net tons. The output marked an increase of 15.7% year over year. Furthermore, production increased by 0.3% from the previous week.

Novelis announces new sustainability targets

Aluminum sheet manufacturer Novelis announced new sustainability targets and a pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Furthermore, Novelis said it aims to reduce its carbon emissions by 30% by 2026.

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Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, including the Suez Canal blockage, the April 2021 MMO, Western European hot rolled coil prices and much more:

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Week of March 29-April 2 (Suez Canal retrospective, HRC in Western Europe, April MMO report and more)

• US steel imports fell in February from the previous month.
• This week, the MetalMiner Monthly Metal Outlook (MMO) report went out to subscribers.
• Workers at the Bradken steel manufacturing plant in Atchison, Kansas, went on strike.
• Meanwhile, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns again checked in on the existential crisis at Liberty Steel.
• Although the container vessel Ever Given is no longer blocking the Suez Canal, the weeklong disruption will have lingering effects.
• Nucor Corporation announced plans to invest $164 million to build a new tube mill near its Gallatin, Kentucky plant.
• The United Steelworkers union this week announced a strike at nine Allegheny Technologies Inc. facilities.
• Hot rolled coil prices continue to rise in Western Europe.
• Meanwhile, Chile’s industrial output and copper extraction fell in February, the country’s National Statistics Institute reported.
• Circling back to the Suez Canal, Burns expounded on how China and Russia could view the blockage as an opportunity to push alternatives.
• US steel capacity utilization ticked up to 77.6% last week, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported.
• This week, President Joe Biden released details of his American Jobs Plan.
• Domestic metals industry groups offered up initial reactions to the American Jobs Plan details.
• Lastly, Rio Tinto announced it has joined Japan’s Green Value Chain Platform Network, which aims to lead transparency in decarbonization efforts in the country.

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This morning in metals news: Chile’s INE reported the country’s industrial production, including copper production, fell in February; meanwhile, US automotive sales fell in February; and, lastly, the United States International Trade Commission made duty rulings on imports of silicon metal.

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Chile industrial production falls in February

Chile’s National Statistics Institute (INE) reported the country’s Industrial Production Index fell 3.4% in February.

Furthermore, the Mining Production Index fell by 6.2%. The decline came largely as a result of a drop in copper extraction and processing in February, the INE reported.

US vehicle sales fell in February

US vehicle sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.1 million units in February, according to US Bureau of Economic Analysis data.

The rate fell from 17.1 million units in January.

The February 2020 rate reached 17.2 million units before plunging to 11.8 million and 9.1 million units the next two months.

USITC rules on silicon metal

The USITC recently determined imports of silicon metal from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, and Iceland benefited from illegal subsidization and were sold in the US at less than fair value.

The Department of Commerce will issue a countervailing duty order on imports of the metal from Kazakhstan. In addition, it will impose an anti-dumping duty order on imports of the metal from Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The MetalMiner Best Practice Library offers a wealth of knowledge and tips to help buyers stay on top of metals markets and buying strategies.

US steel imports in February — and through the first two months of the year — are down compared with 2020, the Census Bureau reported.

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US steel imports in February down 22% from previous month

US steel imports reached 1.71 million metric tons in February, according to preliminary data from the Census Bureau.

Imports fell from 2.20 million metric tons in January.

Meanwhile, February 2021 imports were up from the 1.37 million metric tons imported in February 2020.

Furthermore, imports were down over 7% in the year to date compared with the first two months of 2020.

According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), finished steel import market share reached an estimated 18% in February. Meanwhile, through the first two months of the year, import market share reached 17%.

In addition, after reaching 35% in 2017, steel import penetration fell to 26% by 2019, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Tin plate, cold rolled sheet imports surge

February saw a surge in imports of tin plate and cold rolled sheets, among other steel products.

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Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, including coverage of the semiconductor shortage, the Midwest Premium and more.

A fire at a Japanese chip-making plant last week has slammed automotive operations. General Motors, Ford and many other automakers have announced idling of production as a result of the shortage.

Meanwhile, on the supply side, Intel announced plans to invest $20 billion to build two new Arizona plants. Furthermore, Intel said it aims to “serve the incredible global demand for semiconductor manufacturing.”

The MetalMiner Best Practice Library offers a wealth of knowledge and tips to help buyers stay on top of metals markets and buying strategies.

Week of March 22-26 (semiconductor shortage, Midwest Premium and more)

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• Hot rolled coil prices in Western Europe have continued to rise, Christopher Rivituso explained earlier this week.
• The semiconductor shortage has impacted the automotive sector, leading to a number of manufacturers idling production.
• Sticking with the automotive market, Europe’s automotive sector continues its electrification drive, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns explained.
• Burns on China’s aluminum sector and what efforts to curb pollution could mean for the aluminum market.
• British Steel recently announced its first delivery of rails to Europe under new owner Jingye Group.
• Sohrab Darabshaw on the Chinese steelmaking hub of Tangshan and what efforts to curb pollution could mean for steel, iron ore and more.
• US steel capacity utilization dipped to 77.3% last week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
• The US’s adoption of battery energy storage will continue to rise, the Energy Information Administration reported.
• After a heavily disrupted first half of the year, global copper mine production in 2020 ultimately finished unchanged relative to 2019 production.
• In a webinar earlier this week, MetalMiner experts overviewed market conditions and buying strategies for what is currently a bullish commodities market.
• U.S. Steel recently unveiled what it called a new sustainable steel product line dubbed verdeX™.
• The rising Midwest Premium reflects an exceedingly tight US aluminum market.
• According to the Economic Policy Institute, the former Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum produced “near-immediate benefits.”
• Lastly, circling back to the semiconductor shortage, Ford said it will temporarily idle production of the F-150 at its Dearborn, Michigan plant.

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Three years have passed since former President Donald Trump imposed Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The administration cited national security concerns when imposing the tariffs. In addition, it aimed to raise capacity utilization of the US steel and aluminum sectors. (For the week ending March 20, US mills reached a steel capacity utilization rate of 77.3%.)

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Some countries received exemptions and domestic buyers have been able to win exclusions, which have mitigated the strength of the tariffs.

Metals consumers have expressed their opposition to the tariffs. For example, the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) called for an end to the tariffs last year, citing the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, a recent review of the tariffs offered a more positive view.

The MetalMiner Best Practice Library offers a wealth of knowledge and tips to help buyers stay on top of metals markets and buying strategies.

EPI: Section 232 tariffs produced ‘near-immediate benefits’

According to a recent report this week by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the Section 232 tariffs offered “near-immediate benefits.”

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This morning in metals news: ArcelorMittal announced a series of low-carbon initiatives; meanwhile, US import prices increased in February; and, lastly, the aluminum price has picked up this week.

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ArcelorMittal unveils XCarb™ low-carbon initiatives

ArcelorMittal today announced a trio of new low-carbon initiatives under the umbrella of what it is calling XCarb™.

“XCarb™ will ultimately bring together all of ArcelorMittal’s reduced, low and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities, as well as wider initiatives and green innovation projects, into a single effort focused on achieving demonstrable progress towards carbon neutral steel,” ArcelorMittal said.

The program will include green steel certificates for customers.

“Across our ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products operations, we are investing in a broad range of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions from the blast furnace,” ArcelorMittal said. These initiatives range from our flagship Smart Carbon projects, such as Torero (transforming biomass into bio-coal to replace the use of coal in the blast furnace) and Carbalyst (capturing carbon-rich blast furnace waste gas and converting it into bio-ethanol, which can then be used to make low-carbon chemical products) to capturing hydrogen-rich waste gases from the steelmaking process and injecting them into the blast furnace to reduce coal use.”

In addition, the program includes recycled and renewably produced “pioneering products.”

Lastly, XCarb™ will also include an innovation fund. ArcelorMittal says it will invest $100 million annually into the fund. The fund will go toward “groundbreaking companies developing pioneering or breakthrough technologies that will accelerate the steel industry’s transition to carbon neutral steelmaking.”

Import prices rise

In addition to today’s ArcelorMittal news, US import prices picked up 1.3% in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Import prices gained, in part, due to higher fuel prices.

Prices for import fuel rose 11.1% in February after rising 9.0% in January.

Aluminum price gains

The LME three-month aluminum price closed Tuesday at $2,201 per metric ton.

A week ago, LME three-month aluminum reached $2,169 per metric ton.

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This morning in metals news: the US Court of International Trade rejected a tariff exclusion process challenge; meanwhile, a metals trader ordered 10,000 tons of copper blister and got something else; and, finally, aluminum is gaining popularity as a material for outdoor living products.

Grab your coffee and hear MetalMiner’s latest forecast for aluminum, copper, stainless and carbon steel. The webinar is on Wednesday, March 24, at 10 a.m. CDT: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6J8wAyYySfihVk3ZUH9yMA.

US Court of International Trade rules on Section 232 tariff exclusion process

Michigan-based metals supplier Thyssenkrupp Materials NA, Inc., challenged the Section 232 tariff exclusion process, arguing it leads to “exclusions on an application basis to specific requestors and not automatically to all importers of a particular article, creates a non-uniform tax across the United States in violation of the Uniformity Clause of the Constitution.”

Former President Donald Trump used Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose tariffs in 2018. Trump imposed tariffs of 10% on imported aluminum and 25% on imported steel.

In addition, US importers could apply for exclusions to the tariffs through the Department of Commerce.

Thyssenkrupp Materials NA asked for two forms of relief. They asked for refunds on duties already paid, plus interest, for any good that any requestor has received an exclusion. Furthermore, the importer asked for an injunction preventing Customs and Border Protection from collecting duties on any product that has been granted an exclusion by any requestor.

The government, meanwhile, argued the importer did not make a claim for an exclusion that had been denied. As a result, it argued the importer had not received injury from the process.

The three-judge panel sided with the government in the case.

“Because the exclusion process promulgated by Commerce does not violate the Uniformity Clause of the Constitution and does not reflect an improper construction of the President’s Proclamations, the Government’s motion to dismiss is granted,” the judges concluded.

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