【SMM Steel Market Morning Brief】US Tariffs on China May Be Significantly Reduced

★Macro★

01 ★★★ 【China and Azerbaijan Establish Comprehensive Strategic Partnership】

On the morning of April 23, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who was on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The two heads of state announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Azerbaijan.

02 ★★★ 【US-China Tariffs Expected to Drop Significantly】

US President Donald Trump, speaking publicly on Tuesday, April 22, acknowledged that current US tariffs on imports from China were too high and expected the rates to drop significantly.

03 ★★★ 【Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Holds Video Conference on Safety Production and Three-Year Action Plan for Fundamental Solutions】

Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development held a video conference on safety production and the three-year action plan for fundamental solutions. The meeting required accelerating the special governance action for national urban gas pipeline safety, deepening the special rectification work for national urban gas safety, and strengthening the "safety valve" for gas. It also called for continued efforts in the special rectification of self-built housing safety, establishing a regular mechanism for rural housing safety hazard inspections, advancing the renovation of dilapidated and old urban houses, and enhancing the safety management of urban and rural housing. Efforts should be made to deepen the control of construction safety for housing and municipal projects, strengthen the linkage between the construction market and the construction site, build an electronic certificate system for the construction safety field, and accelerate the digital transformation of all elements of construction safety information. It is necessary to strengthen the management of fire design review and acceptance for construction projects, and promote the special governance of illegal and non-compliant activities in fire design review and acceptance for construction projects. The construction of the lifeline safety project for urban infrastructure should be advanced, the "one committee, one office, one platform" work system should be improved, and the "one network for overall management" of urban operations should be realized. Cooperation with relevant departments is needed to carry out the safety rectification of hot work in densely populated places and the safety of building insulation materials.

★Industry and Downstream★

01 ★★★ 【Qingdao: Plans to Add About 57,700 New Urban Housing Units This Year to Stabilize the Real Estate Market】

The Qingdao Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau released the 2025 housing development plan for Qingdao on April 22. According to the plan, Qingdao plans to add 227 hectares of various residential land supply this year. The city will add about 57,700 new urban housing units. Among them, about 20,000 units of commercial housing will be listed, approximately 35,700 units of resettlement housing will be basically completed, and 2,000 units (rooms) of new affordable housing will be added. The government will mainly ensure the rigid housing needs of salaried groups, adhering to the principle of "government-led, multi-participation, and market operation," improving the housing system with both rental and purchase options, promoting the collection and supply of rental-type affordable housing, accelerating the construction and sales of sale-type affordable housing, and implementing a new model for village-in-city resettlement, speeding up the relocation and resettlement of residents. The plan emphasizes the continuous organization of mobile real estate fairs, real estate promotion meetings, and group buying activities, utilizing youth talent home purchase vouchers, and exploring the implementation of housing trade-ins. The role of the housing provident fund should be fully utilized, increasing support for home purchases, implementing preferential policies for renting, and stabilizing the real estate market.

02 ★★★ 【Institution: Average Residential Rent in 50 Cities Fell 0.44% in Q1 2025】

According to the 2025 Q1 summary of the Chinese housing rental market released by the China Index Academy, the average residential rent in 50 cities fell 0.44% in Q1 2025. On a monthly basis, in January, as migrant workers returned home for the Chinese New Year, the average rent for ordinary residences in key cities fell slightly by 0.4%; in February, after the post-holiday return-to-city wave, the demand for housing rentals in key cities increased significantly, and the average rent for ordinary residences stabilized, rising 0.01% MoM; in March, after the phased release of rental demand, the 50-city average residential rent was 35.3 yuan/m²/month, down 0.05% MoM and 3.40% YoY.

03 ★★ 【CPCA: Retail Sales of Passenger Vehicles Reached 897,000 Units from April 1-20, Up 12% YoY】

According to data released by the CPCA, retail sales of passenger vehicles reached 897,000 units from April 1-20, up 12% YoY but down 9% MoM. Cumulative retail sales since the beginning of the year reached 6.024 million units, up 7% YoY. From April 1-20, retail sales of new energy vehicles reached 478,000 units, up 20% YoY but down 11% MoM, with a retail penetration rate of 53.3%. Cumulative retail sales since the beginning of the year reached 2.898 million units, up 33% YoY.

04 ★★ 【Blast Furnace Pig Iron Production at Steel Mills Continues to Rise】

According to an SMM survey, on April 23, the blast furnace operating rate of 242 steel mills was 88.58%, up 0.8 percentage points WoW. The capacity utilization rate of blast furnaces was 90.49%, up 0.66 percentage points WoW. The daily average pig iron production of sample steel mills was 2.4415 million mt, up 16,700 mt WoW.

05★★ 【World Steel Association: Global Crude Steel Production in March 2025 Was 1.661 Billion mt, Up 2.9% YoY】

Data released by the World Steel Association showed that global crude steel production in March 2025 for 69 countries/regions included in the World Steel Association statistics was 1.661 billion mt, up 2.9% YoY. In March 2025, Africa's crude steel production was 1.9 million mt, up 0.6% YoY; Asia and Oceania's crude steel production was 1.236 billion mt, up 3.9% YoY; the EU (27 countries) crude steel production was 11.7 million mt, up 0.2% YoY; other European countries' crude steel production was 3.6 million mt, down 7.2% YoY; the Middle East's crude steel production was 5.3 million mt, up 1.9% YoY; North America's crude steel production was 9.2 million mt, up 1.4% YoY; Russia and other CIS countries + Ukraine's crude steel production was 7.1 million mt, down 3.5% YoY; South America's crude steel production was 3.7 million mt, up 6.5% YoY.

★Other Hot Topics★

⭕This week, the HRC inventory in Lecong was 71.33 tons, down 63,100 tons WoW, a decrease of 8.13%; compared to the same period last year, it was down 266,700 tons, a decrease of 27.21% YoY.

⭕China National Coal Association: In the first quarter, the top 10 companies produced a total of 590 million mt of raw coal, up 39.74 million mt YoY, accounting for 49.2% of the raw coal production of enterprises above designated size.

⭕One of the world's largest copper mines, Antamina in Peru, experienced an accident, resulting in the death of the operations manager. The mine has initiated a full shutdown to ensure safety and is investigating the incident.

⭕CATL launched a new battery swapping car model, involving multiple models under FAW, Changan, BAIC, and GAC.

⭕PowerChina: In Q1, the company signed new contracts worth 299.323 billion yuan, down 9.6% YoY.

⭕China Communications Construction Company: In Q1, the company signed new contracts worth 553.034 billion yuan, up 9.02% YoY.

⭕China Index Academy: In Q1, the average residential rent in 50 cities fell 0.44%, with Wenzhou experiencing the largest decline.

⭕Handan City: Deepened the optimization and adjustment of the "three major structures." In the steel industry, one step-type sintering machine and 13 pellet shaft furnaces were completely shut down and phased out. All coal-fired lime kilns in the city were shut down and phased out. Linzhang County integrated and phased out 11 carbon enterprises, and Cheng'an County integrated and phased out 6 carbon enterprises.