The United States imported a total of 3,022,000 net tons of steel in April, according to the latest report issued by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The report, which is based on preliminary Census Bureau data, shows that April import totals include 2,368,000 net tons of finished steel. Total imports were 9.0% higher in April compared to March 2005, while finished steel imports were 5.0% higher than in March 2005. (Comparisons are based on the previous month’s final Census Bureau data, not preliminary data.)

Several key product areas exhibited significant increases in April, including:

• Semi-finished steel, imported in significant quantity by converters (+26%)
• Galvanized (hot-dipped) sheet & strip (+20%)
• Hot-rolled bars (+15%)
• Oil country goods (+78%)
• Line pipe (+33%)
• Standard pipe (+24%)

Year-to-date (YTD) total and finished imports are up 23.4% and 21.9%, respectively, compared to YTD 2004. YTD imports are up significantly (compared to YTD 2004) in several key categories including:

• Sheet & strip-all other metallic coated (+118%)
• Tin plate (+103%)
• Plates in coil (+94%)
• Cold rolled sheet (+89%)
• Galvanized (hot-dipped) sheet & strip (+59%)
• Oil country goods (+51%)
• Cut-length plates (+50%)
• Cold finished bars (+49%)
• Structural pipe & tubing (+36%).

YTD imports are also up significantly from a number of key trading partners, including non-market economies and countries that historically subsidize their steel industries and intervene in steel, raw material and currency markets. Notable increases include Russia (+289%), China (+226%) and Brazil (+77%).

U.S. spot prices for hot and cold-rolled sheet in April declined for the seventh month in a row, according to data publicly reported by Purchasing Magazine. Prices declined 23.9% and 18.9% for these products, respectively, over the period from September 2004 to April 2005.

AISI President and CEO Andrew G. Sharkey III commented, “In order to stop the erosion of U.S. manufacturing and reverse the trend of massive trade deficits in steel and steel-containing goods, we urge our government to take action against internal and external, long-term structural problems. The foreign trade-distorting practices that the U.S. government needs to address in an effective manner include foreign government tariff and non-tariff barriers on imports, foreign government restrictions on exports of raw materials, foreign government currency manipulation, unfair international tax rules and other activities that effectively subsidize the foreign production of steel and other manufactured goods.

"Our government should make sure that U.S. laws promote U.S. investment and penalize trade-distorting practices. To cite one example, subsidies granted in non-market economies should be subject to the countervailing duty law both before and after a country is declared to be a market economy."