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Top sources of U.S. imports of steel and aluminum

On Wednesday, the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports doubled as President Donald Trump intensified a global trade conflict.

Here is a list of major trading partners that will be affected.

STEEL:

About a quarter (25%) of the steel used in America is imported. The bulk comes from Mexico and Canada, or other close allies such as Japan, South Korea, and Germany.

China is the largest producer and exporter of steel in the world, but it only sends a small amount to the United States. In 2018, tariffs of 25% were imposed on Chinese steel, which effectively shut the market out.

Last year, China exported 508,000 tons of steel net to the U.S. This is 1.8% of all American steel imports.

ALUMINUM:

The U.S. relies more on imports for aluminum. Approximately half of the aluminum used in the U.S. comes from imports, the majority of which is Canadian. Canadian aluminum imports exceeded the combined total of nine other countries by 3.2 million tonnes last year.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China are the next two largest importers, with 347,034 metric tons and 222,872 respectively.

According to global standards, the U.S. aluminium smelting sector is relatively small. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the total smelter capability in the country is just 1.73% the global total.

(source: Reuters)