Import tariffs for steel and aluminium

Initial situation

• Trade barriers in the steel and aluminium sector results in artificial price increases for foreign supplier
• The target of the initiation from import duties is the protection of the domestic industrie

Impact

• Domestic producers are benefitting from the restrictions
• Domestic consumers in turn have to pay higher prices as there is no possibility to profit from the advantageous world market price
• Two sides of the coin
• Steel and aluminium manufacturing Industries in the USA have to pay higher prices for the production e.g. automotive industrie, oil and gas industry

Realization

• Just in 2002 tax barriers of 30% had been levied in the US 
• With the exception of Mexico und Canada
• ​​​​​​​There will be exceptions again as the US in the area of high quality specifications is not competitive. Furthermore dependent domestic industries have to remain the international competitiveness (e.g. automotive industrie, oil- and gasindustry).

Winner from the restrictions

• Domestic steel- and aluminiumproducers as well as international companies of these sectors which own shares in the value chain of the local sectors + companies of these sectors from countries for which those restrictions do not apply

• Alcoa (AA:US)
• AK Steel (AKS:US)
• Bluescoop Steel (X:US)
• Century Aluminium (CENX:US)
• Evraz PLC (EVR:LN)
• Yamato Kogyo Co Ltd (5444:JP)