Paris:
On Steel, US President Donald Trump’s new tariff has already promised to complicate a strategic industry unstable by Chinese overproduction and Europe’s Haklana Blast Furnace.
Recently returned to the White House, a long -deprived trade war of Mercurial Republican will be a new front on Monday and 25 percent levy on imported steel in the United States.
Trump imposed similar tariffs during his first post to protect American growers, which he complained to unfair competition.
Who exports steel to America?
According to the latest data of Trade Body World Steel, 1.89 billion tonnes were hit in global steel production in 2023.
The world leader represents more than half of China’s 1.02 billion tonnes of tally, with the United States far behind 81 million.
The United States, meanwhile, imported 26.4 million tonnes of alloys in 2023, making it the second largest market for foreign steel behind the European Union.
According to the US Department of Commerce, Canada tops the list of Washington’s favorite steel providers with the United States of 5.95 million tonnes from the northern neighbor of the United States.
Brazil and the European Union exported 4.08 million and 3.89 million tonnes to the United States respectively, beyond Mexico at 3.19 million and South Korea at 2.5 million.
However, China exported only 470,000 tonnes to the United States.
Why are Trump complaining?
Global overproduction of alloy has reduced steel prices in the last one year.
While the bicycle has been run through a decrease in the previous half -century steel economy and a lot of duration, today it is facing a structural problem of much steel, says experts.
According to the Economic Cooperation and Development Organization, this steel surplus varies about half a billion tonnes.
A person from the European steel industry told AFP on the condition of the remaining anonymity, “The majority comes from China which is flooding in the world markets.”
The source stated that historically, European and American production capacity was in line with the entire balanced and domestic needs.
“But more than demand in Southeast Asia (production)”.
He said that newly employed steel factories in the region should add a production capacity of 100 million tonnes – “80 percent of which 80 percent of which comes from Chinese players” – at the top of the current surplus, he said.
In addition, Beijing has long been suspected to indirectly subsidize their steel production, reduce prices and place traditional European and American players on the back legs.
As a result, the under-fire US Steel has been the subject of an acquisition bid by Japanese rival Nippon Steel, which was blocked by the then President Joe Biden.
With squeezing low prices profits, Germany’s Thyssenkrupp announced that it would close thousands of people working on their furnaces.
Why does steel matters?
Steel, hence the key to the second industrial revolution at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries, remains a strategic industry worldwide.
It is a fundamental girder on which many traditional industrial areas rest.
More than half of the steel produced in 2023 was still in luck for construction, while the remaining 12 percent went to automobile manufacturers.
Arms manufacturers, railway and other transport sectors are similarly facilitated among top consumers of alloys.
But its use in wind turbines means that steel is similar to infection for renewable energy.
For the development of artificial intelligence, it is also necessary to construct data centers used for large amounts of information key.
Is Green Steel present?
The manufacturing process, in which coal burns to melt steel from iron ore, makes the industry the largest emitter of planetary-winning greenhouse gases.
Some steel furnaces have tried to limit their environmental impact for the manufacture of gas and hydrogen installations by recycling more scrap metal, switching to electric furnaces or phasing of highly polluting coal.
In Europe, it was planned to put the huge amount of huge funds in the industry.
But those investments are currently placed on snow due to Trump’s trade war, global surplus and the threat of steel consumption of the continent.
(Tagstotransite) Trump Tariff (T) US Steel Tariff (T) US Steel Import
