Although Japan and Taiwan have been sending rebar to the US at relatively consistent levels for the last few years, the latter half of this year is starting to show a moderate uptick in tonnage levels—which has apparently started to alarm some US market players. Compared to offer prices for Turkish rebar to the US, offer prices from their Asian competitors are not significantly lower—not nearly as low as one would expect to trigger a trade case, but some chatter in the market indicates that a new AD/CVD case could be on the horizon.
As for Turkish rebar producers, they could be included in a new case as well, sources say, but with demand for Turkish rebar imports so low currently “it wouldn’t make sense,” said one source, adding “domestic mills are doing just fine.”
Turkish rebar offers, meanwhile, have trended quiet this week due to the Feast of Sacrifice holiday, and once the Turkish market resumes late this week or early next week, traders tell SteelOrbis that considering the downtrend in scrap, lower offers for Turkish rebar could materialize. Until then, offers are still in the range of $19.50-$20.50 cwt. ($390-$410/nt or $430-$452/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but “no one’s biting,” according to sources.