Sources tell SteelOrbis that inquiry activity within the US import rebar market has not picked up since the Independence Day holiday earlier this month, and while rebar offers from Turkey saw a marginal increase in last week’s report, prices have trended stable since then. Offers for imported rebar in the US domestic market from Turkey are still at a minimum of $38.25 cwt. ($765/nt or $843/mt) DDP loaded truck at US Gulf ports.
Trader sources say they don’t think the latest tariff news will have an impact on Turkish rebar offers to the US—on Monday, the US filed a dispute with the WTO regarding retaliatory tariffs from various countries, including Turkey. As a direct result of the US’ 25 percent Section 232 tariffs against steel and aluminum imports, Turkey imposed tariffs ranging from 4 to 70 percent on $1.8 billion of US goods, effective July 1. Sources say the dispute will “largely play out in the background,” with buyers and sellers making demand and price-based decisions instead of “worrying about politics.”