WTO concludes Section 232 dispute cases brought by Canada, Mexico

The WTO’s dispute settlement body “concludes its work by reporting that a mutually agreed solution to this dispute has been reached between the parties,” according to a notice issued by the group on Thursday July 11. The US removed its Section 232 tariffs against Canada and Mexico in May, which was expected to put downward pressure on domestic prices. 

Canada and Mexico, along with the European Union and several other nations, opened dispute consultations with the US at the WTO in June 2018. Section 232 tariffs remain in place against the EU and the region’s dispute consultation at the WTO remains open. 

The volume of foreign steel licensed for delivery to the US increased in June, rising by 8.5% to 2.45 million tonnes from 2.26 million tonnes in June 2018. 

Fastmarkets’ steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US, was calculated at $27.35 per cwt ($547 per short ton) on July 10, down by 24.5% from $36.21 per cwt at the start of this year and off by 40.3% from the nearly 10-year peak of $45.84 per cwt in early July 2018.