by admin | May 25, 2021 | Commodities, Commodities News, World
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
Ankara : Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara was ready to impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports from June 21, after Washington’s steel and aluminium tariffs.
A total of $266.5 million in additional duties will be charged on 22 items of US imports, including coal, paper, walnuts, almonds, tobacco, unprocessed rice, whiskey, automobiles, cosmetics, machinery, equipment and petrochemical products, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
The highest additional customs duties will be imposed on whiskey and automobiles at 40 per cent and 35 per cent respectively, said the report on Tuesday.
In March, US President Donald Trump announced imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and a 10 per cent tariff on imported aluminium, prompting general criticism from many countries and causing turmoil in the global stock market.
Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci warned earlier that his country could take retaliatory measures. Zeybekci also said that Turkey and the EU decided to move together at the World Trade Organisation platform against the US.
Turkey is the world’s eighth-largest steel producer and the sixth largest steel exporter to the US after Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Russia.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Commodities, Commodities News, World
Washington : The US Department of Commerce has started accepting the domestic industry’s product exclusion requests from the recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday, according to a rule published by the department.
The interim final rule, published on the government official journal Federal Register and formally effective on Monday, outlines the procedures for the US industry to seek such exclusions, reports Xinhua.
Approved exclusions will be made on a product basis by the Commerce Department and will be limited to individuals or organisations that submitted the specific exclusion request, according to the rule.
“These procedures will allow the Administration to further hone these tariffs to ensure they protect our national security while also minimising undue impact on downstream American industries,” US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross was quoted as saying.
It is estimated that the department will receive steel tariff exclusion requests from 4,500 applicants and aluminum tariff exclusion requests from 1,500 respondents, according to Politico, a US political website.
However, the Office of the US Trade Representative has not informed the public how countries can be excluded from those tariffs, the report said.
The move came after the Trump administration’s announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and a 10 per cent tariff on imported aluminum earlier this month, which would formally take effect on Friday.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Washington : Following the US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would impose tariffs on the importation of steel and aluminum products, Canada on Thursday termed the decision as “unacceptable”, vowing to take “responsive measures”.
Trump said on Thursday that he would impose 25 per cent of tariff on steel imports and 10 per cent for aluminum to protect the US industry. However, experts said it could hurt US producers and face legal challenges from trade partners.
“As a key NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and NATO ally, and as the number one customer of American steel, Canada would view any trade restrictions on Canadian steel and aluminum as absolutely unacceptable,” Xinhua quoted Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland as saying.
In a meeting with business executives, Trump said: “We’ll be signing it next week. And you’ll have protection for a long time in a while.”
News of the tariffs immediately hit sentiment on the Wall Street, with the Dow slumping over 500 points, more than two per cent, in late trading.
Daniel Ikenson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, said that trade restrictions could hurt US producers by exposing them to competitions from foreign rivals with lower production costs capable of offering lower prices in the US market.
US actions would face legal challenge by other World Trade Organization members, and they would also invite other members to invoke national security to protect favoured industries, said Ikenson.
European Union (EU)’s trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom has said that EU would seek retaliation measures if the Trump administration’s 232 trade investigation brings damage to European steelmakers.
It’s still unknown whether Trump’s announcement on Thursday refer to blanket tariffs for all countries.
In April last year, Trump ordered the Commerce Department to study the impact of steel and aluminum imports on national security under seldom-used section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act.
Two weeks ago, the Commerce Department unveiled its recommendations for Trump to restrict imports of steel and aluminium products due to national security concerns, which drew opposition from US lawmakers and businesses.
According to the recommendations, the US could introduce at least 24 per cent tariff on all steel imports from all countries and at least 7.7 per cent tariff on all aluminium imports from all countries.
Trump’s announcement on Thursday was higher than both recommendations.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Commodities, Commodities News, Corporate, Corporate Buzz, Large Enterprise
Kolkata : India’s production of finished steel from April to November rose by 5.1 per cent to 69.604 million tonnes while consumption grew by 4.2 per cent to 56.788 million tonnes during the period, a Steel Ministry report said.
“Production of finished steel at 69.604 million tonnes registered a growth of 5.1 per cent during April-November 2017 over the same period last year. India’s consumption of total finished steel saw a growth of 4.2 per cent in April-November 2017 (to 56.788 million tonnes) over the same period last year, under the influence of rising production for sale and imports,” the Ministry’s Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report said.
SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, TSL, Essar, JSW Steel Ltd and Jindal Steel and Power Limited together produced 40.224 million tonnes of finished steel for sale during the first eight months of the current fiscal, which was a growth of nine per cent over the same period last year.
The report said overall production for sale of total finished steel at 8.342 million tonnes in November only was down by 9.7 per ent over October 2017 but grew by 6.4 per cent over corresponding month last year.
“During April-November 2017, crude steel production was 66.70 million tonnes, a growth of 4.5 per cent over same period last year, the report said.
According to it, the consumption at 6.412 million tonnes in the last month (November) was up by 1.9 per cent over same month last financial year.
However, India’s import of total finished steel at 5.534 million tonnes in April-November was up by 16.9 per cent over the same period last year and imports in November only was at 0.614 million tonnes, up by 2.5 per cent over te year-ago month.
The report said India’s total finished steel exports grew by 57.1 per cent to 6.639 million tonnes in the first eight months of the current fiscal compared with same period last year.
“Overall exports in November 2017, at 1.012 million tonnes, was up by 29.9 per cent over October 2017 and up by 53.6 per cent over November 2016,” it added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Commodities, Commodities News, Large Enterprise
Kolkata : India’s steel consumption in July rose by 3.7 per cent to 6.905 million tonnes (mt) over corresponding month last year and exports in the last month grew by 64 per cent, the Steel Ministry’s latest report said on Saturday.
“Overall consumption in July at 6.905 mt was down by 4.2 per cent over June 2017 but was up by 3.7 per cent over July 2016,” the report of the ministry’s Joint Plant Committee (JPC) said.
India’s consumption of total finished steel at 27.911 mt saw a growth of 4.4 per cent in April-July period over same period of last year, under the influence of rising production for sale and imports.
Exports of total finished steel increased by 65.5 per cent to 2.807 mt in April-July 2017 over same period of last year and overall exports at 0.77 mt in July only was up by 19 per cent over the previous month but grew by 64 per cent over year-ago month.
However, import of total finished steel at 2.505 mt in the first four months of the current fiscal grew by 4.7 per cent over same period of last year.
“Overall imports in July 2017 at 0.798 mt was up by 24 per cent over June 2017 and was up by 42.2 per cent over July 2016,” the report said.
India was a net importer of total finished steel in July 2017 and maintained its net exporter status in the first four months of the current fiscal.
According to the provisional data released by the JPC, production for sale of total finished steel in July was at 8.256 mt, up by 9 per cent over year-ago month.
“Production for sale of total finished steel at 34.430 mt, registered a growth of 6.9 per cent during April-July 2017 over the same period last year,” the report said.
During April-July, the ISP (Integrated Steel Plant) producers produced 20 mt, which was a growth of 14 per cent while production for the other producers was up by 0.2 per cent.
—IANS
