15 July, 2017
President Trump is hinting that he may impose tariffs, quotas or both on imported steel in an effort to protect the domestic steel industry.
"Steel is a big problem".
The concern also remains that curbs on Chinese steel products could send them flooding into Asian markets instead, driving prices lower.
On Thursday, the VanEck Vectors steel exchange-traded fund rose 0.6 percent after being down 1 percent before Trump's remarks. That hurts USA steelmakers by reducing prices, he told reporters.
USA steelmaking stocks headed for their best week in four months following the publication of Trump's comments on Thursday.
Although the administration blames China for most of the glut on the global steel market, allies such as Canada, Mexico and South Korea would likely be hard-hit by any import restrictions.
The Commerce Department has been conducting a review of both steel and aluminum imports under a rarely used 1962 statute created to protect industries deemed vital to national security.
Restricting steel imports through tariffs or quotas would be controversial, though.
Steel stocks rallied on the news, recovering some of the year-to-date declines in the sector.
Ross told the lawmakers during the meeting he will present options to the president, who will make the ultimate decision on steel imports, according to Republican Senator Pat Roberts, who attended the briefing.
Trump's action on steel is a part of a campaign pledge he made to help revive USA manufacturing.
Speaking to reporters as he flew to France for a bilateral meeting, Trump said there are two ways to address what he calls unacceptable dumping of foreign steel into the US market - quotas and tariffs.
America can not meet all its demand for high-quality steel products from domestic sources alone, so "the USA government will probably look for a compromise, such as designating exceptions", said Keiju Kurosaka, a senior analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
