"The crisis involving steel prices and supply continues to worsen," the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, or CAMMU, said in a statement, adding that the US has become "an island of high steel prices."
The daily S&P Global Platts TSI hot-rolled coil index rose by $4/st Aug. 1 to $1,942.25/st on an ex-works Indiana basis, marking a new high, with domestic HRC prices rising 92% from the start of the year, according to Platts data.
According to numbers provided by CAMMU, US manufacturers are now paying roughly $1,334/st more for HRC compared with competitors in China and $734/st more than European competitors.
In addition to the high prices, CAMMU highlighted the rebound in domestic steel capacity utilization as another reason the tariffs should end. US raw steel capability utilization stood at 84.9% in the week ended Aug. 28, down slightly from 85% in the prior week, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Former President Donald Trump applied the 25% import tariff on steel products in March 2018 using a national security justification under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, with the stated goal of raising domestic steel mill utilization to above 80%.
