Global News Of Note: EU, China Trade Steel Tariff Announcements

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 European Commission has launched an investigation into whether Chinese exporters are selling flat-rolled products of iron or steel plated or coated with tin at excessively low prices. The investigation will last up to 14 months, with duties possibly coming within seven to eight months.
• China’s Ministry of Commerce had opted maintain current anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel products from the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia. The penalties on stainless steel billets, sheets, and coils originating in the EU, UK, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia range from 20.2 percent to 103.1 percent. The initial duties were imposed in July 2019 and had been due to expire in July 2024. Read more here.
• Chinese imports of unwrought aluminum products increased 72.1 percent between April 2023 and April 2024. The data included primary metal and unwrought, alloyed aluminum imports. That jump brought imports in the first four months of 2024 to 1.49 million tons, a figure that was 86.6 percent higher than during the first four months of 2023. Read more here.