Cleveland Cliffs Inc (CLF)

[Democritus_of_Abdera]

Re Section 232 unintended consequences…

STS66, I was also surprised that China was #11 on the imported steel list… just goes to show that the marginal producer can have an out-sized effect if there is capacity excess..

A more authoritative analysis of the steel imports as a function of both source (country) and form (flat products, pipe and tube products, etc) is found at
http://www.ita.doc.gov/steel/countries/pdfs/imports-us.pdf

The report concurs with the steelobis blog statement that China ranks 11th of 110 countries from which the US imports steel. The top 10 sources accounted for 81% of the US steel imports in 2016. These were:
Canada-17%
Brazil-13%
South Korea-12%
Mexico-9%
Turkey-7%
Japan-6%
Russia-6%
Germany-4%
Taiwan-3%
Vietnam-3%

Another story detailing possible unintended consequences following imposition of Section 232 can be found at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-steel-tariffs-20170628-story.html

Selected quotes:

….
In March 2002, President George W. Bush levied tariffs of up to 30% on various types of imported steel. Like Trump, Bush had promised on the campaign trail to come to the aid of U.S. steel producers and workers who had been ailing amid rising imports and depressed prices. Bush took the action, which was supposed to last for three years, on the more common basis that a surge of imports had caused injury to the domestic industry.

U.S. steel prices rose immediately, jumping nearly 70% by mid-summer, according to data from S&P Global Platts. But Bush lifted the tariffs 16 months before they were scheduled to expire, shortly after the WTO ruled the action illegal and Europe threatened to retaliate with tariffs of its own — on citrus from Florida, motorcycles made in Wisconsin and other U.S. goods.

Bush claimed that the protective measures were a success in allowing the domestic industry to get back on its feet, but by some estimates, the steel tariffs cost some 200,000 domestic jobs in 2002, about one-fourth of them in metal-making, machinery and transportation equipment and parts sectors.
….
In his 2002 steel tariffs, Bush excluded Canada and Mexico, and analysts expect the same from Trump, especially as the U.S. is gearing up to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The U.S. already has in place some tariffs on various steel from China and some other countries, for selling products below cost or with the unfair benefit of government subsidies. As a result, steel from China accounted for just 3% of total U.S. steel imports last year, although that does not tell the whole story. Steel shipments to the U.S. from Turkey, for example, have doubled since 2013, and the American steel industry says Turkey has been buying cheap Chinese steel billets, turning them into products and then loading them onto boats to America.
…
Greenblatt, the CEO of Marlin Steel Wire, said it’s hard enough already competing with European rivals. If Trump imposes tariffs, he reckons he will be paying even more for American steel, while Germany and others may continue to buy China-made steel at a cheaper price, making it even tougher to win business in the global market.