Talk of US Section 232 steel duty decrease for Turkey grows louder

Talk is building that the Trump administration might - or might already have decided to - reduce Section 232 tariffs on Turkish steel to 25% from 50%, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Word of a potential reduction in duties circulated among industry executives on the sidelines of an annual World Steel Association meeting last month in Tokyo and has been making the rounds among US sources more recently.

It was not immediately clear whether or when such a reduction in duties might happen.

The Commerce Department and the White House did not respond to requests for comment from Fastmarkets AMM on Friday November 2.

A presidential proclamation was required for the Trump administration to double Turkey’s Section 232 duty to 50% on August 10. One would also be required to reduce the margin to 25%.

Fastmarkets was not aware of any such proclamation early Friday afternoon Chicago time.

The rumors of a duty drop followed the US and Turkey removing sanctions they had imposed on each other due to a spat over the detention of US evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson. Brunson was released last month after being imprisoned for two years in Turkey.

US President Donald Trump unveiled news of the doubling of duties on Turkish steel in August in a pre-dawn tweet. His Twitter feed has made no mention of a potential decrease in duties.

Turkey is one of the top suppliers of foreign steel to the US market. But its exports to the US have lagged this year.

The US this year imported 762,105 tonnes of steel from Turkey through August, down 54% from 1.66 million tonnes in the same period last year, according to Commerce Department figures.

Turkey has traditionally been an important consumer of US scrap exports and a key supplier of foreign rebar and flat-rolled steel to the US.

What to read next
Fastmarkets will amend the specifications of its existing price assessments for Europe/US lithium spot battery-grade and technical-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate to remove the US footprint, and will launch weekly price assessments for spot battery-grade and technical-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate for the United States and Canada on Thursday April 4.
This initiative marks a significant step towards reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions and championing the US in the global decarbonization effort
The most recent financial results published by base metals mining companies highlight just how inflation is affecting profit margins, with increasing wages, financing costs and input prices all hitting profits, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday March 28
Century Aluminum is among those selected to start award negotiations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminium smelter, the company said on Monday March 25
Fastmarkets launched its first price assessment for MB-FEC-0024 Ferro-chrome 50% Cr, delivered Europe, $/lb Cr on Tuesday March 26.
Fastmarkets has amended the publication date of the latest European charge and high-carbon ferro-chrome benchmark to reflect the date from which the benchmark applies after the price was erroneously published on the date it was announced (March 25).