The State of U.S. Steel Imports

The Trump administration is currently waiting for the results of an investigation into the effects of steel imports on national security in the U.S. According to a report by the International Trade Administration, the trade deficit in steel products has grown by 269 percent since 2009, amounting to -21.2 million metric tons (mmt) of crude steel in 2016. In fact, the U.S. is the world’s largest recipient of steel from abroad with 30 percent of its crude steel consumption being imported.

As our graphic illustrates, apparent consumption (measuring the national steel demand) has increasingly surpassed production in recent years. Accordingly, apparent consumption grew by 53 percent, while crude steel production only increased by 32 percent - making steel imports necessary.

In 2016, the largest share of crude steel came from Canada which exported 5.2 mmt to the U.S. In second place was Brazil with 3.9 mmt with South Korea following closely behind with 3.5 mmt.