Domestic HRC steel prices have surged 67% since they hit a floor just six months ago.
The duties imposed on steel products caused imports to taper down in a big way this year, and U.S. steel mills now have the power to raise their base selling prices. Moreover, China’s stimulus measures boosted demand for steel in this first half, causing prices in China to rise, too.
Earlier this month we heard many analysts say the recent steel price rally was purely speculative, without a fundamental justification for the price swings, as steel-rebar and iron-ore futures traded in China went into sharp decline in recent weeks. However, U.S. domestic prices are rising without looking back, at least for now.
Higher U.S Steel Prices: Is That What We Really Want?
Some firms have lost a ton of money in recent years as China created global oversupply, bringing global steel prices down with massive exports. In the face of rising imports, American production has dropped and U.S. steel producers are justifiably unhappy with the circumstances.
Now U.S. policymakers seem determined to follow a protectionist path because, truth to be said, it’s unfair that a company has to go out of business because of the stupidity of Chinese policymakers. These protectionism measures might or might not help the U.S. steel industry in the long-term, however, this raises another question: will this really help the broader U.S. economy?
Steel Exports, Tariff Economics
The cost of import restrictions directly equals the harm they do to manufacturers of value-added products that use steel as an input. According to Department of Commerce statistics, downstream steel manufacturers that utilize steel generate much more jobs and wealth to the U.S economy than what metal manufacturers generate.
This subject is very controversial and, perhaps, there is not a right answer to the issue, as someone is always going to get hurt. What’s true is that China is losing money in the form of subsidies to save its steel industry and keep its massive population employed, and by doing that China is actually transferring so much of its wealth into the U.S. by selling low-priced steel. Which doesn’t sound as bad as U.S. steel producers make it sound…