US line pipe market bracing for Section 232 impact

Friday, 01 June 2018 21:34:57 (GMT+3)   |   San Diego
       

Yesterday, the Trump administration announced they would implement a 25 percent tariff on imported steel from Canada, Mexico and the EU. Today, the domestic energy pipe market is trying to make sense of what the future is going to look like.  

One SteelOrbis source indicated that his contacts overseas feel that tariffs are preferable to quotas. “If import quotas similar to those imposed against Korean steelmakers would have meant that mills in many other countries would have already reached their cap,” he said.

Some domestic buyers agree, adding that quotas would have likely created a supply line shortage, which could have driven prices up drastically toward the end of the year. Trader sources say that offshore mills are currently evaluating their offer prices; new pricing is expected to be available next week.

In terms of US domestic pricing, offers for API X-52 line pipe continues to hold at approximately $67.50-$70.00 cwt. ($1488-$1543/mt or $1350-$1400/nt), ex-mill.

“I think what we’re going to see in the upcoming weeks, is that import material will still cost less than what the domestic mills are asking for,” a source said. “The only differences will be that one, everything costs a lot more than it did during the first few months of the year, and two, that buyers across the country aren’t happy about it.”


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