US reduced its imports of rolled steel by 7.6% m/m in June

According to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), US steelmakers reduced their imports of rolled steel by 7.6% month-on-month to 1.64 million tonnes in June 2025.

Total steel imports (rolled products and semi-finished products) for the month fell by 9.6% m/m – to 2.25 million tons.

The largest volume of imports was accounted for by wire rod – 165,660 tons (+40.5% month-on-month), products for the oil industry – 146,520 tons (-31% month-on-month), hot-dip galvanized rolled steel – 145.35 thousand tons (+20.6% month-on-month), and bars – 139.13 thousand tons (+71% month-on-month). Finished products accounted for 73.1% of total imports for the month.

In January-June, the US reduced its imports of rolled steel by 7.8% compared to the same period in 2024, to 10.79 million tons. Total steel imports amounted to 14.62 million tons (-4.7% y-o-y). The main volumes of supplies are accounted for by products for the oil industry – 1.09 million tons (+13.4% y-o-y), hot-dip galvanized rolled steel – 977,090 tons (-37.5% y-o-y), and cold-rolled flat products – 873,970 tons (-11% y-o-y).

The main sources of steel imports to the US in January-June 2025 are Canada, Brazil, and Mexico – 2.8 million tons (-19.4% y-o-y), 2.58 million tons (+2.6% y-o-y) and 1.79 million tons (-8.4% y-o-y), respectively.

Recently, leading American steel industry associations called on the US administration to maintain existing steel import duties. Five industry organizations sent a joint letter to President Donald Trump, in which they supported the tariff policy under Section 232 and opposed possible exemptions for other countries.

The letter states that 50% tariffs should remain in place, despite negotiations on mutual tariff reductions with individual trading partners. The industry emphasizes the need to protect the domestic market from the effects of global steel overproduction.

Industry representatives noted that the utilization rate of steel production capacity in the US has not yet reached the recommended level of 80%, and subsidies and unfair practices in other countries only exacerbate the problem of excess steel supply in the global market.

The letter also mentions that a number of countries, including Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia, are seeking exemptions from the tariffs. American manufacturers believe that concessions on this issue could undermine efforts to reduce the US trade deficit and open foreign markets to American goods.

As GMK Center reported earlier, at the end of 2024, the US increased its imports of rolled steel by 3.7% compared to 2023, to 22.5 million tons.

US steel production in 2024 fell by 2.4% compared to 2023 to 79.5 million tons. Overall, global steel production for the year amounted to 1.84 billion tons, down 0.9% y/y. Thus, the United States is among the ten largest steel producing countries in the world according to World Steel.