US steel industry plans for trade deals with Russia

The US plans to renegotiate a trade agreement with Russia on imports of rolled steel amid growing tensions over relations between Russia and Ukraine. The agreement came into being after the end of the Cold War and protected the Russian metallurgy industry from high anti-dumping duties on hot rolled coils.

Steel firms are urging US officials to abandon or adjust steel benefits. Imports from Russia of hot rolled steel, flat products and carbon steel products increased 162 percent in the period starting in April compared to the previous quarter. Given the volume of incoming imports, options are being actively explored to stop or change the agreement, and preparations are already underway to submit the document to the US government.

Russia is one of the largest foreign suppliers of HRC to the United States. If the deal is canceled or revised, local companies such as AK Steel, Nucor Corp, United States Steel Corp will only benefit. If the 1999 agreement is discarded, then high anti-dumping duties of about 73.59 percent will be introduced for the Russian Severstal, and for the Magnitogorsk and Novolipetsk metallurgical plants, they may be increased to 184.56 percent.

The clauses of the agreement can be removed within 60 days or changed through negotiations. However, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense said he currently has no plans to change or remove those terms. Based on the agreement, reference prices for Russian hot-rolled steel products in the current quarter are from $ 554.61 709.90 per tonne.