Following the release of the US Department of Commerce’s Section 232 evaluations and recommendations at the end of last week which were presented to President Donald Trump in January, the international steel markets have reacted strongly to the news, with steel industry bodies across the globe asserting that all of the three recommendations made by the DOC constitute severe sanctions which will turn the dynamics of the market upside-down and eventually cause bigger problems. As Turkish steel mills are consequently facing the risk of the blockage of their steel exports to the US- which is the leading commodity which Turkey’s exports to the US -, their demand for import scrap is observed to have slowed down in the current week after its strong trend recorded last week. Today, January 20, a Turkish steel mill concluded an ex-UK deal, with HMS I/II 80:20 scrap prices remaining at $353/mt CFR, the same price level seen last week.
The decision regarding the Section 232 investigation is also very important for the scrap markets. If any one of these recommended measures is initiated, US scrap export tonnages will decline as domestic steel production in the US increase and also international scrap prices will move up as global scrap supply falls. As a result, the final decision regarding the Section 232 probe which is expected to be announced towards mid-April holds vital importance for the Turkish steel market.