The US is likely to import a record amount of steel this year, a sign that it needs to address unfair trade practices by China and other Asian exporters, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) said.
Based on preliminary data released on Wednesday by the Census Bureau, the industry trade group said that steel imports could reach 46 million tonnes this year, above the previous record of 41.5 million tons set in 1998.
The AISI represents over 30 US steel companies, including Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor Corp, Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp and Lisle, Illinois-based IPSCO Inc.
The Census Bureau reported that imports jumped 45 percent through October this year, to 38.8 million tonnes, up from 26.8 million tonnes in the same period last year. The US imported an additional 3.4 million tonnes last month, the bureau said.
The AISI said much of the increase stemmed from countries with "a history of unfair trading," including China, India and several other Asian countries.
Imports from Taiwan have increased 213 percent so far this year, the group said, and imports from China are up 135 percent.
UA steel imports from China reached 4.3 million tonnes in the first 10 months of this year, Census Bureau data showed, up from 2 million tonnes in the same period last year.
Andrew Sharkey, president and CEO of AISI, said the increase from China "underscores the need" for the US and other North American governments to "more aggressively press China to abandon its currency manipulation, export subsidies, trade barriers and other anticompetitive practices that deny North American steel producers a level playing field."
"It is imperative that the problem of unfair trade, which continues to confront this and many other US manufacturing industries, be fully and firmly addressed," Sharkey said.
US manufacturers have long criticized China for allegedly keeping its currency artificially low against the dollar, which makes its exports to the US less expensive.
The import numbers do not reflect the impact of a vote earlier this month by the US International Trade Commission to revoke a set of tariffs on high-grade steel imports used in cars.
An official at the United Steelworkers union criticized that move for putting the US steel industry "at the mercy of foreign producers who routinely have taken advantage of our open market to dump their unfairly traded steel."
But some analysts have argued that further trade protection for the steel industry is unnecessary.
Daniel Ikenson, associate director of the Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies, said in a report last month: "By every relevant financial yardstick, the industry is performing phenomenally and investors are bullish about its future."
"To continue ... trade restrictions on behalf of an industry that is in enviable health," Ikenson wrote, "is an injustice to ... taxpayers and consumers."
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College