Many countries threaten to raise steel tariffs on China

According to reports on April 17, US President Biden announced that the US will raise tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminium products to 25% before the end of investigation of current "Section 301".

On April 23, the Brazilian Commerce and Foreign Trade Executive Committee announced that it will increase import tariffs on 15 types of steel products to 25% for one year, and set up import quotas for 11 types of steel products. Steel products involved include HRC, cold-rolled coils, hot-dip galvanized coils, Al-Zn alloy coils, wire rods and OCTB. There is a question mark over when this measure will officially take effect, and how it will technically restrict the import of the above-mentioned products into Brazil.

Mexican President Lopez signed a decree on April 22 to impose temporary import tariffs of 5-50% on 544 commodities, including steel, aluminium, textiles, clothing, footwear, wood, plastics and other products. The decree takes effect on April 23 for two years. According to the decree, round steel with a diameter less than 14 mm will be subject to a temporary import tariff of 50%.

Total proportion of Chinese steel exports to the three countries is only 5.03%.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, Chine exported 90.26 million mt of steel in 2023, with Asia (69%), Africa (11%), Europe (5.6%), Latin America (11.7%), North America (1.6%), and Oceania (1%). Specifically, these are China's steel exports to the US (0.94%), Brazil (3.09%) and Mexico (1%). Given the small share, SMM believes that the impact on overall Chinese steel demand will be minimal.