US import rebar and wire rod pricing was steady this week as many long steel importers remain leery about importing additional cargoes given the likelihood that the incoming Trump administration will impose additional tariffs on imported steel, market insiders told SteelOrbis this week.
At the SteelOrbis RWR long steel conference in Las Vegas this week, several importers said they were hesitant to book more supply from overseas because additional tariffs on imported steel could be announced “at any moment.” Several told stories of being assessed additional unforeseen fees on incoming cargoes in the past as tariffs were enacted. Most conference attendees said they think additional tariffs on imported steel are a near certainty.
“We think more tariffs on steel imports are a given,” said one market insider. “Why else would Trump have created an External Revenue Service to pay for the extension of tax cuts. Importers have been burned pretty bad in the past, so that’s a good reason why imports are way off.”
Even as import pricing is reported flat this week, domestic long steel pricing is mostly higher as record cold weather and snow combined with recent wire rod supply reductions at Liberty Steel and Nucor-Connecticut. Domestic rebar pricing was reported higher on increased January Midwest scrap prices, with February scrap seen another $20/ton ($22/mt) higher.
In the import markets, pricing remains steady with last reported sales from Egypt on a delivered-to-customer basis at $36.50/cwt. ($730/nt or $805/mt). Insiders expect import pricing from Egypt to remain in the $36.50-37.00/cwt., range near term, with additional cargo bookings from Malaysia and Vietnam likely to keep prices from moving much higher.
On the US Gulf Coast, imported rebar remains at $35.75-36.75 cwt. ($715-735/nt or $788-810/mt) on a loaded truck basis, unchanged from earlier assessments, insiders said. Following earlier declines, rebar on an East Coast loaded truck basis is assessed steady at $35.75-36.75/cwt. ($715-735/nt or $788-810/mt).
In the Mexican export markets, insider say buyers remain hesitant to engage with sellers as a result of tariff uncertainty. Houston loaded truck rebar is offered steady at $37.50-$39.50/cwt. ($750-790/nt or $827-871/mt), though no new trades are noted, following recent $30-50/ton rebar price increases from US mills.
On the import wire rod mesh front, import material on a DDP loaded truck basis USG is discussed flat at $37.00/cwt. ($740/nt or $816/mt), following earlier price strength as US markets moved higher amid uncertainty regarding the planned restart of the Liberty Steel wire rod plant in March 2025.