As the ominous clouds of an impending trade war between the US and China looms large, serious questions of justifications of this kind of a step are being raised in several quarters in the US itself.
Moreover, US ports would likely be hurt by retaliatory tariffs on agriculture by China and the European Union (EU), as well as the steel and aluminium tariffs since these products are important cargoes at coastal ports and the Great Lakes.
As per the US banking sector, imposing 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent tariffs on aluminium imports could reduce the US gross domestic product (GDP) by a quarter-point over the long term, but that impact could be 10 times bigger if other countries respond in kind.
It’s been noted that the EU and China have already announced possible tariffs of their own – GDP could take a 3.49 percent long-term hit. In addition, it is estimated that productivity in the US could decline by 1.65 percent.
Think-tank’s bashing
The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), a pro-free trade think-tank, after assessing the fallout of a possible trade war, concludes that steel imports create $240 billion in American economic activity annually, along with 1.3 million American jobs. About 1.2 million of these are related to the importers and users of the raw steel, and about 26,000 are directly generated by port activity.
Many US-based steel buyers – contractors, manufacturers and others – oppose restrictions on steel imports, arguing that new limits would impact the availability and price of raw steel. At worst, some manufacturing interests assert that it could force them to move their operations out of the country.
In addition, many of these steel consumers claim that more American jobs are created in the supply chain and the use of steel than in its manufacturing.
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Denne historien er fra May 2018-utgaven av Steel Insights.
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Steel's Net Zero mission
The country’s commitment to achieving Net Zero within a targeted timeframe will now propel its steel sector towards a sustainable future in line with global trends.
Fuel Price Hike, Supply Chain Disruption Hurt Festive Sales
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Seaborne coking coal offers remain range-bound
Seaborne coking coal offers moved in a narrow range in October amid global supply tightness and healthy spot demand.
Global crude steel output down 8% in September
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MOIL embarks on expansion projects
“Even though our country is blessed with manganese ore reserves, we import 50% of the domestic requirement. We have to lower our import dependence and save precious foreign exchange.” Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, Steel Minister
Iron ore handled by major ports down 17% in H1
The 12 major Indian ports handled 27 mt of iron-ore during H1 of 2021, down by 17% from 33 mt recorded for the corresponding period of previous year.
Shrinking China output to boost India exports
“In the third quarter of 2021, the company actively responded to the pressure from external policies, such as production curtailment and dual control system on energy consumption and intensity, as well as coal resource shortage and surging prices.” Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd
Indian Railways' iron-ore handling up 25% in H1
Indian Railways in April-September of 2021 (H1) transported 84 mt of iron ore, up by 25% over 67 mt during April-September 2020.
September crude steel production up 7.2% y-o-y
India’s crude steel production in September 2021 grew 7.2 percent to 9.547 million tons (mt) over September 2020 but was down by 3.2 percent from August 2021 output, provisional steel ministry data showed.
“Five enablers: way forward to sustainable cleaner steel”
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