US: Steel imports rebound to 14-month high in Jul’26

• Hot-rolled bar imports rose sharply by 51.7% in Jul’26
• Tariffs continue to restrict foreign steel inflows y-o-y

The United States imported around 2.06 million tonnes (mnt) of steel products in July, the highest monthly volume since June last year, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau under the Department of Commerce (DoC). The volume rose 7.8% from June and 1.2% from a year earlier.
The value of July steel imports registered $1.98 billion, up 4.6% m-o-m. However, this was 9.6% lower than the year-earlier level.

By source, U.S. steel imports rose notably from South Korea, Indonesia, and Russia in July, while those from Argentina, Japan, and Australia tapered off.

Shipments from South Korea jumped 31.8% m-o-m to 504,221 tonnes (t). Those from Indonesia gained by a tangible 29.6% to 80,067 t. Russia recorded 16,717 t in July after reporting no shipments in June. In contrast, imports from Argentina collapsed to just 5 t from 31,568 t in June, plunging 99.98% m-o-m. Steel imports from Japan dived 27% to 71,437 t, while the volume from Australia tumbled 36.3% to 26,560 t.

By product category, notable increases were recorded for wire rod and hot-rolled bar in July. Wire-rod imports surged 53.2% m-o-m to 100,522 t, while hot-rolled bar imports leapt 51.7% to 52,777 t , the DoC statistics suggest.

The monthly rebound, however, did little to reverse the broader weakness evident so far this year. For the January-July period, American buyers purchased 12.32 mnt of steel products, a sharp 19.6% drop from 15.32 mnt a year earlier. Industry sources largely attribute the decline to President Trump’s hefty tariff on steel imports, doubled to 50% in June last year to shield domestic producers from foreign competition.

Over the same period, South Korea was the largest source of U.S. steel imports, supplying 2.31 mnt , logging a 43.1% surge on year. Canada followed with 1.68 mnt , though that represented a spectacular 40.4% drop from a year earlier.

Note: This article is published as part of a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.