Brazilian slab exporters remain negotiating deals at $490/mt, FOB conditions for basic commercial grades, a reference price now stable for two weeks.
Considered as the “new normal” by the Brazilian exporters, such price already includes the impact of the 25 percent import tariff imposed on steel imports by the US. It was on average $535/mt between August 5, 2024, and March 1, 2025.
According to preliminary numbers by SECEX, during the first two weeks of April, Brazil exported an estimated 500,000 mt of slabs, which compares to 661,600 mt for the total of March.
Such volume, with deals closed in average at $564/mt, probably includes sales to alternative markets, as the Brazilian slabs exporters remain searching new markets, to compensate for a potential loss of sales to the US, the usual main destination of the Brazilian slabs.
Meanwhile, Brazil maintains negotiations with US authorities to exclude slabs from the high import tariff, arguing that the product complements the rolling operations of the steel producers in the US.
The Brazilian side often cites the example of the ArcelorMittal / Nippon Steel Alabama Calvert plant, which depends on slabs produced by the Brazilian ArcelorMittal plants of Tubarão and Pecem to sustain its rolling operations.