US HDG market still firm amidst uncertainty over Section 232 tariffs

On Sunday, Sen. Bob Corker said he believes there’s support in congress for legislation that would check Donald Trump’s power when it comes to implementing tariffs.

Corker said he didn’t know of any senators who weren’t concerned about the tariffs, adding he strongly believes “a jailbreak is brewing.”  He went onto say he believes Trump’s use of Section 232 tariffs is an “abuse of authority.”

It’s also worth noting that India and Turkey have joined the ever-growing list of countries who have countered the 25 percent steel tariff with tariffs on a wide range of US exports, spanning from agricultural products to bourbon to Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Last week, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed concern over the spike in domestic steel prices.  Ross told the Senate Finance Committee that there has been a lot of speculative activity, storing inventory, withholding product from the market, which caused the price of domestic steel to go up by far more than would be justified by the tariffs.

Market players within the US domestic HDG and Galvalume coil markets say they’re still wary that a price correction could be on the horizon, especially due to the lightning-fast runup of prices that’s been seen since January.  f domestic steel to go up by far more than would be justified by the tariffs.

Buyers say that as such, they’re cautiously managing inventories; pricing, SteelOrbis sources said, has remained stable.