While still technically operating in “summer slowdown mode,” sources within the US import wire rod market are hopeful that recent trade developments will soon provide more options for import buyers. This week, the US Department of Commerce announced it would begin offering exclusions to import quotas currently imposed on steel products from Brazil (along with Argentina and South Korea), which has been a relatively steady source of import wire rod to the US.
Brazilian wire rod arrivals have decreased in recent months, but sources say offer prices are still lower than offers from other countries still subject to Section 232 tariffs, and if US companies can successfully apply for exclusions to the Brazilian steel quotas, it would be a “significantly attractive” option for US buyers for the remainder of this year. Unfortunately, reporting from Brazil indicates that Brazilian wire rod mills are more focused on their own domestic market than exports, due to high domestic prices that offer much better margins than export offers. Current offers for imported wire rod in the US domestic market from Brazil are in the range of $35.00-$36.00 cwt. ($700-$720/nt or $772-$794/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.
Another trade development is the ongoing talks between the US, Canada and Mexico to renegotiate NAFTA, and although some reports have indicated that Section 232 tariff negotiations will be separate from the NAFTA trade talks, importers in the US are nevertheless hopeful that Mexican wire rod will “be on the menu again” in the near term.
As for other sources of US import wire rod, offers for imported wire rod in the US domestic market from Germany are still around $36.50 cwt. ($730/nt or $805/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, and offers from Greece are around $36.00-$37.00 cwt. ($720-$740/nt or $794-$816/mt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.