Global News Of Note: British Government Extends Steel Tariffs

What happens abroad impacts MSCI members in North America. Here is the latest economic, trade, and other policy news of note for the last week:

• As Reuters reported, the British government will extend tariffs and quotas on imports of five steel products for an additional two years. In 2021, Britain retained penalties it inherited from the European Union (EU) on 10 categories of steel for three years. On five products, however, the safeguards were extended for just one year. The EU had introduced quotas in 2019 when Britain was still in the bloc to guard against steel shipments normally destined for the United States being redirected to Europe after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed his 25 percent Section 232 tariffs on steel products. Read more here.
• According to SteelOrbis, imports of semi-finished steel into China fell “significantly” in May, declining 13.8 percent from the month before and an incredible 70.8 percent from May 2021. Imports were at their lowest level in two-and-a-half years. Read more here.
• Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg News, China’s aluminum exports soared again in May due the fact that buyers in Russia were looking for other sources due to sanctions resulting from the war in the Ukraine. Year-to-date, China has exported 380,000 tons, nearly 1,000 percent more than the same period in 2021.