Tariffs on steel scrap besiege US steel producers
US steel producers and
scrap metal companies complain about trade measures that
Russia and
Ukraine are imposing taxes and tariffs on
scrap exports. This raw material accounts for two-thirds of
US steel market requirement for
production.
The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) and the Institute of
Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) pointed out that the inadequate steel
scrap damages
US steel producing and consuming industries.
SMA and ISRI also reported that foreign steel-producing countries are restricting their
scrap exports in order to subsidize local steel
production.
The SMA and ISRI demand Washington to interfere against trade barriers overseas, which are doubling the price of
scrap in a year.
Scrap metal, which accounted for 64% of the
US steel output, is used in arc furnaces for
manufacturing purposes. Although it has lower standard than steel manufactured from
iron ore, it requires around one-fourth of the energy and is more environmentally-conscious to produce.
Steel prices have increased in the last year due to global demand, especially from
China. SMA and ISRI allege that
scrap prices also increased as a result of overseas tariffs.
The composite
scrap price has more than doubled from $120/ton to just under $300/ton since October 2003. The US consumes 70 million tons of
scrap annually to produce around 108 million tons. US imports 3-4 million tons of
scrap and exports 9-11 million tons.