US steel imports from Netherlands drop sharply after tariff hike

Preliminary figures from the American Iron and Steel Institute show the US imported 44,000 tonnes of steel and steel products from the Netherlands in June, down from 59,000 tonnes in May. Imports in May were also 6% higher than in April, the paper said.

Tata Steel’s IJmuiden plant, the Netherlands’ largest steel producer, previously said around 12% of its production is exported to the US. However, parent company Tata Steel Limited has indicated these exports account for 20% of the Dutch operation’s profits, the paper said.

Under the agreement between former US president Donald Trump and the European Union, EU goods face a 15% tariff, but steel imports are set to remain subject to the full 50%. The details of the agreement have yet to be worked out.

Semi-conductors

It is also unclear what effect Trump’s newly announced 100% tariff on “all chips and semiconductors entering the US” will have on major Dutch tech firms such as NXP and ASML.

ASML supplies chip machinery makers to Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC which is not subject to the tariffs which could mean the Eindhoven-based company is less affected, news website Nu.nl said.

NXP has production capacity in the US and is listed on the Nasdaq in New York. A spokesman for the company told news agency ANP they were still trying to assess the likely impact.