China’s steel exports rise 9% y-o-y in Jan-May’25

Despite global trade protectionism reaching new heights under Trump 2.0 and tariff warfare continuing unabated, Chinese exports of steel are saturating the global market and stoking fears of a prolonged slump in the industry. BigMint data show that exports of steel by China increased by 8.5% y-o-y to 48.5 million tonnes (mnt) in January-May 2025 (5MCY’25) from 44.7 mnt in the same period last year. In May, however, export momentum would appear to have flagged somewhat: total shipments rose by just 1% m-o-m in May to 10.6 mnt compared with 10.5 mnt in April.