21 January 2025 – Spot market prices for Asian nickel products have risen by up to 1.4% today. America’s First Deal Maker in office – How Europe could react. New America First Trade Policy to review all existing US anti-dumping and countervailing duties, but also Section 232.
Asian nickel spot market prices rise
Spot market prices for Asian nickel products have risen today. Chinese nickel prices (99.9%) improved by more than 1.4%, Asian nickel pig iron prices (NPI) rose by up to 0.8%. Indonesian nickel ore prices had already risen by up to 1.5% last Friday.
The price increases in spot nickel are also reflected in Asian stainless steel prices, which rose by around 0.7% across all grades today.
America’s first deal maker in office – how Europe could respond
With the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th US President, America’s First Deal Maker has returned with clear announcements about future US policy.
While in many places there is still relative cluelessness about how to deal with or react to the new America First policy, the European Union would be well advised to respond to the suggestions from Donald Trump’s United States regarding the purchase of oil and gas from America.
The EU needs oil and gas to a large extent anyway and could turn this into a win-win situation for exports from the Union to the United States. Instead of relying on imports of oil and oil derivatives from e.g. India, which were obtained in a roundabout way and most probably from sanctioned Russian crude oil. Showing a willingness to negotiate with the United States could therefore be an option here.
America First Trade Policy – Anti-Dumping & Countervailing Duties, S232 under review
The America First Trade Policy was also published on 20 January 2025. In addition to a review of all existing trade agreements within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), President Trump also announced a review of all existing anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) measures and a review of Section 232 measures against steel and aluminum products.
Stainless steel from Taiwan and Vietnam in the US government’s sights?
In the case of stainless steel, we can imagine that the US authorities are scrutinising Taiwan, by far the largest supplier. However, the new US government is also likely to take a critical view of stainless steel from Vietnam, where some of the primary material comes from China, particularly in the case of one of the larger Vietnamese players. In the recent past, the United States has increasingly taken measures in relation to the Melt and Pour (MaP) origin in order to block Chinese precursor material.
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