Articles in Category: Imports

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China has had a fraction of the deaths and hospitalizations from the COVID-19 pandemic that Western societies have had. Furthermore, China had an economic bounceback that saw its GDP rise 2.3% last year.

China’s bounceback

The rebound has been impressive.

Construction of new high-speed train lines to smaller provincial cities and new motorways connecting remote cities left behind in previous plans in part drove the recovery.

The housing sector has also boomed. Overseas demand has boosted manufacturing, particularly PPE and electronic goods, even as other exporters have suffered by lockdowns in those markets.

In the longer term, further debt and a swing back to manufacturing from the earlier pivot to consumption will not do the economy or China any good.

For now, however, the economy is humming. Tailwinds from both stimulus and pent-up savings should keep the economy growing strongly in the first half of 2021.

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Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a quick look back at the week that was and the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, including the release of the January 2021 MMI, a look at what might happen to the iron ore price and much more.

Inauguration Day draws near for President-elect Joe Biden, leaving metals industry groups to wonder what happens next for President Donald Trump’s signature metals policy: Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Whether Biden ultimately chooses to maintain those measures or do away with them remains to be seen, but metals watchers will be eyeing those developments closely.

As for metals prices, some price gains slowed down amid the festive season, but some have resumed their upward ascent in early 2021. Copper, for example, crossed the $8,100 per metric ton threshold earlier this month.

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This morning in metals news: U.S. import prices rose in December; the Aluminum Association commented on potential changes to the Section 232 aluminum tariff program; and November steel shipments dropped by 11.9%.

U.S. import prices gain by 0.9% in December

U.S. import prices jumped by 0.9% in December, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Furthermore, the December increase marked the largest jump in import prices since August.

Meanwhile, U.S. export prices rose by 1.1% after rising by 0.7% in November.

Aluminum Association calls for ‘targeted, multilateral’ approach

We previously noted several industry groups’ recent call for the incoming Biden administration to maintain existing steel tariffs and quotas.

In that vein, the Aluminum Association offered its own comments on the Section 232 aluminum tariff program.

“The Aluminum Association continues to favor a targeted approach to trade enforcement,” Aluminum Association President and CEO Tom Dobbins said in a prepared statement. “Across-the-board tariffs have failed to dent the non-market-based structural subsidies that drive overcapacity and hurt U.S. aluminum producers and workers. We look forward to working with President-elect Biden’s trade team on new, creative approaches to combat this perennial challenge, including renewed cooperation with traditional trading partners and allies.”

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This morning in metals news: several industry groups urged President-elect Joe Biden to continue existing steel tariffs and quotas; Germany’s OGE and Thyssenkrupp and Norwegian energy company Equinor are collaborating to mitigate emissions; and Norsk Hydro and Nuvosil are working on aluminum and silicon recycling technology.

Industry groups urge Biden to keep steel tariffs

President Donald Trump in 2018 used Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose steel tariffs of 25%.

The steel tariffs remain in place, as does the 10% tariff on aluminum.

President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office next week. As such, many have wondered how the former vice president’s trade policy will differ from Trump’s approach.

In a joint letter, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), the United Steelworkers union (USW), The Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports (CPTI) and American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) urged Biden to keep the steel tariffs in place.

“Continuation of the [steel] tariffs and quotas is essential to ensuring the viability of the domestic steel industry in the face of this massive and growing excess steel capacity,” the statement reads.

The letter adds that removing or weakening the measures will invite a “new surge” in imports.

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OGE, Thyssenkrupp, Equinor work together to curb Duisburg emissions

According to Reuters, German firms OGE and Thyssenkrupp and Norwegian energy company Equinor will work together to curb emissions from Thyssenkrupp’s plant in Duisburg, Germany.

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This morning in metals news: new E.U. duties on iron and steel imports from Turkey take effect today; meanwhile, the Aluminum Association commented on President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination for the post of secretary of commerce; and natural gas prices fell to their lowest levels in decades last year.

Cut-to-length adders. Width and gauge adders. Coatings. Feel confident in knowing what you should be paying for metal with MetalMiner should-cost models.

E.U. duties on Turkish iron, steel

E.U. duties on Turkish iron and steel imports are set to take into effect today, Reuters reported.

According to the report, the anti-dumping duties will range from 4.8-7.6%.

Meanwhile, the European Steel Association (Eurofer) in May 2020 filed the initial complaint that sparked the probe. In September 2020, Eurofer petitioned for the registration of Turkish hot-rolled steel imports.

Elsewhere, MetalMiner contributor Christopher Rivituso earlier this week surveyed the Turkish steel market.

Aluminum Association comments on Biden’s pick to lead DOC

On the heels of President-elect Joe Biden’s announcement that he intends to nominate Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo for the post of secretary of commerce, the Aluminum Association released a statement.

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Nobody yet is quite sure whether Australia and China’s spat over coking coal imports will eventually turn out to be a case of bad politics making good economics or bad economic sense making for good politics.

While politics between China and Australia is part of the reason for the former to have completely banned the import of coal from the latter, it has led to churn in the Asian the rest of the global coal markets.

With China not lifting the ban despite it being a new year (as some had anticipated), the volatility in the markets is likely to continue.

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China’s coking coal import ban

In the last quarter of 2020, a verbal ban by China to halt all Australian coke was followed up with a formal one.

Coking coal import prices then declined by 24% from early-October to mid-December. Why? Because market players expected a glut in the global coal market in the medium term.

This game of Chinese checkers is not relegated to only the two players, China and Australia.

Ripple effects

India, Japan, and a host of other Asian and Southeast Asian nations have started to feel the after-effects.

Of late, according to this report by CNBC, major Chinese cities have started suffering power cuts because of the Chinese authorities limiting power usage while citing a shortage of coal.

What’s more, Chinese coal prices have shot up due to the reported shortage.

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This morning in metals news: the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis reported the U.S. goods and services deficit totaled $68.1 billion in November; the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is hoping to win a compensation deal from miner Vale; and the American Iron and Steel Institute released steel import data for December.

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Goods and services deficit reaches $68.1B

The U.S. goods and services deficit reached $68.1 billion in November, the Census Bureau and BEA reported.

The deficit jumped from $63.1 billion in October.

Brazilian state aims to win settlement from miner over 2019 dam disaster

The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is in talks over a settlement deal with miner Vale vis-a-vis the fatal Brumadinho tailings dam collapse in 2019, Reuters reported.

Per Reuters, the state is seeking a settlement worth at least $5.3 billion.

Government and Vale officials were set to meet today, according to Reuters.

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After four and a half years and unprecedented social and political discord, it has finally happened: the United Kingdom has left the European Union with the bare bones of a free trade agreement.

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Bare bones free trade agreement

It took until Christmas Eve — ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline exit date for both sides to make the final compromises necessary to reach an agreement.

However, to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s credit, after all of the lies and disinformation around the benefits of leaving the E.U., he did finally get it done. Even the normally neutral and sober Financial Times acknowledges it is but the bare bones of a deal, with much left uncovered and much still to be agreed.

The deal covers goods, exports to the E.U. of which make up just 8% of U.K. GDP. However, the deal leaves out services. According to The Guardian, services account for around 80% of the U.K.’s economic activity and about 50% of its exports by value to the E.U.

There will be a lengthy process of ongoing negotiation around how much access the City of London is allowed to E.U. business. Similarly, there will be discussions regarding what constitutes the required “equivalence” for which the E.U. is looking.

This means the previous passporting agreement allowing automatic access to the E.U. is replaced by so-called equivalence. That is, each side unilaterally permits companies from the other to conduct certain financial activities in its territory.

That’s hardly a stable position. E.U. countries like France and Germany have made no secret of their desire to challenge the U.K.’s historical dominance in financial services post-Brexit.

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This morning in metals news: the U.S. announced it will adjust its tariffs on E.U. products imposed last year; the U.S.’s renewable energy consumption surpassed that of coal for the first time since before 1885; and metals prices have retraced slightly this week.

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U.S. adjusts tariffs on E.U.

Last year, a WTO ruling authorized the U.S. to impose up to $7.5 billion worth in tariffs on E.U. products. The ruling came as a result of the long-running saga over government subsidies for Airbus in Europe.

Yesterday, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the U.S. will adjust the previously announced tariffs, citing the scope of the E.U.’s countermeasures that hit against U.S. subsidies of Boeing.

“In September, 2020 the EU was authorized to impose tariffs affecting $4 billion in U.S. trade as a result of related WTO litigation,” the USTR said in a release. “In implementing its tariffs, however, the EU used trade data from a period in which trade volumes had been drastically reduced due to the horrific effects on the global economy from the COVID-19 virus.  The result of this choice was that Europe imposed tariffs on substantially more products than would have been covered if it had utilized a normal period.  Although the United States explained to the EU the distortive effect of its selected time period, the EU refused to change its approach.”

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This morning in metals news: U.S. steel imports dropped 22.1% year over year through the first 11 months of the year; the U.S. international trade deficit rose by 5.5% from October to November; and global aluminum production totaled 5.47 million metric tons in November.

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U.S. steel imports drop

U.S. steel imports fell by 22.1% year over year through November, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported.

The U.S. imported 20.5 million net tons of steel this year.

Meanwhile, in November, the U.S. imported 1.37 million net tons of steel, a 9.2% drop compared with October.

U.S. trade deficit rises in November

The U.S. international trade deficit totaled $84.8 billion in November, up 5.5% from $80.4 billion in October, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.

Imports in November came in at $212 billion, up $5.5 billion from October.

Global aluminum production

Global aluminum production totaled 5.47 million metric tons in November, the International Aluminum Institute reported.

The total marked an increase from the 5.26 million metric tons produced in November 2019.

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