14 February 2025 – On February 7, 2025, US President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to introduce reciprocal tariffs. Late on Thursday evening, the White House then announced the targets behind the upcoming measures. US stainless steel manufacturer cancels cold rolling capacity expansion. Prices for stainless steel and raw materials rise.
Reciprocal trade and tariffs – US President announces targets
US President Donald J. Trump had already announced his intention to introduce reciprocal tariffs on February 7, 2025. Late on Thursday evening, the White House then announced the objectives behind the upcoming measures.
- The “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” will seek to correct longstanding imbalances in international trade and ensure fairness across the board.
- Gone are the days of America being taken advantage of: this plan will put the American worker first, improve our competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our trade deficit, and bolster our economic and national security.
No explicit measures have yet been announced, but the countries and economic areas are likely to have become much clearer. The main target is likely to be the European Union, which is mentioned several times in the fact sheet.
“Fair and Reciprocal Plan” – comprehensive package of possible countermeasures
President Trump’s “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” stipulates that all foreign measures affecting trade in US goods and services can be subject to countermeasures and includes, among other things
- tariffs
- unfair, discriminatory, or extraterritorial taxes, including value-added taxes
- costs arising from nontariff barriers or measures and unfair or harmful acts
- policies, or practices, including subsidies, and burdensome regulatory requirements
- policies and practices that cause exchange rates to deviate from their market value
- wage suppression
- and other mercantilist policies that make United States businesses and workers less competitive
- any other practice that imposes any unfair limitation on market access or any structural impediment to fair competition with the market economy of the United States
The reciprocal plan is intended to ensure comprehensive fairness and balance throughout the international trading system by taking into account losses resulting from policies that disadvantage the United States, regardless of how they are called or whether they are written or unwritten.
EU: Is Brussels still hiding in an ivory tower?
While several countries, such as Japan and India, have already signaled their willingness to negotiate with the United States or, like India, are already actively discussing concrete possibilities with the Trump administration, the EU still seems to be waiting for a negotiation offer from the US government. The European Union should urgently abandon its arrogance here and approach US President Trump – but the Brussels ivory tower would rather wait for supposed signals for talks than take action itself.
US stainless steel manufacturer cancels cold rolling capacity expansion
A first notable victim of the US Section 232 changes, a supposed beneficiary itself, has announced that it is suspending an expansion of its stainless steel cold rolling capacity in the United States until further notice. If you take a closer look at this European-based stainless steel mill in the United States, the main reason for this announcement is likely due to a shortage of slab and hot rolled strip from Mexcio and Northern Europe as a result of the Section 232 adjustment.
The fairness behind the Section 232 tariff adjustments
This is what we mean by fairness behind the Section 232 tariff adjustments. Because while the EU continues to impose high tariffs on hot- and cold-rolled stainless steel, hundreds of thousands of tons of input material in the form of slabs continue to be imported from the countries subject to protective tariffs.
If we now take both processes together, we can say with a smile that this has destroyed a morally highly questionable business model of one or two EU stainless steel producers who are oh so worthy of protection. How exactly we mean this should become much clearer if we take a closer look at the flow of slabs into the EU.
Rising prices for stainless steel and raw materials
Prices for stainless steel raw materials such as nickel, nickel pig iron, nickel ore and scrap rose in Asia on Friday. Prices for Indonesian laterite nickel ore in particular rose by more than 5.6%. Prices for stainless steel products also reacted to this today and recorded slight gains across the board. Market participants also reported that there is currently increased demand for raw materials, but that they are also in short supply, which would support prices.
Latest news
- LME aluminum stocks have almost halved since mid-2024
- Tariff dispute: EU threatens United States with retaliation
- 25% US tariffs on steel and aluminum: More fairness for all market participants
We at the Gerber Group have been trading in stainless steel worldwide for over 20 years. We are your experts when it comes to purchasing, import, logistics and services. Information is a vital part of this. Because only then can you and we make the right decisions. Do you have any questions? Contact us now.
Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
