Posted on 26 Jun 2025
Despite a multi-pronged tariff regimen introduced by President Donald J. Trump, flows of imported steel into the United States increased by nearly 20 percent this May compared with the previous month.
U.S. Census Bureau statistics analyzed by the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) show more than 2.48 million tons of imported steel came into the U.S. this May. That represents a 19.7 percent increase compared with the approximately 2.07 millions ton that entered the U.S. this April.
Despite the May increase, AISI says that year to date after five months, total and finished steel imports are down 6.2 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively, compared with 2024.
Some of the May activity may have involved shipments from companies facing additional early July “reciprocal tariff” deadlines. May steel imports from South Korea were up by 69 percent compared with the prior month and those from Brazil were up by 34 percent.
The tariff environment (which already includes across the board duties on steel) may have played into better financial results for some U.S.-based recycled-content electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking firms this spring, with Commercial Metals Co. reporting an improved revenue situation this spring and Nucor Corp. and Steel Dynamics Inc. poised to announce improved earnings this week.
The profitability of blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmakers in the U.S. this spring is not yet as clear. Cleveland-Cliffs will release its second quarter earnings report on July 21 while U.S. Steel results now will be included within reports issued by the Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp.
The Pittsburgh-based United Steelworkers (USW) union, which represents some mill workers at Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Steel and some other firms, has indicated it thinks more can be done to prevent imported steel inflows.
Early this month, the USW and the German Industrial Union of Mining, Chemical, and Energy Workers (IGBCE) union in Europe issued a joint press release calling for additional policy measures on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Presidents of the two unions have called for “a worker-centered agenda that will ensure widespread prosperity well into the 21st century” in both nations.
One of the four main points the unions emphasize involves trade policy. The USW and IGBCE are advocating for “fair trade rules that target unfair practices abroad, with a particular focus on addressing nonmarket economic competition.”
“Global supply chains are the arteries of industrial prosperity, but they must be built on fairness, not exploitation,” says Michael Vassiliadis, president of the IGBCE. “This is not about protectionism—it’s about building resilient, sustainable industries that respect workers’ rights and ensure that no one is left behind.”
Remarks David McCall, president of the USW, “Together, we need an ambitious, worker-centered agenda that protects good jobs, strengthens our industries and invests in the skills, technologies and infrastructure we need to compete well into the future.”
Source:Recycling Today
