In 2017, China produced 831 million tons of raw steel. The U.S. fell in fourth place, with 81.6 million tons, behind India and Japan. Seven years later, in 2024, the United States produced 79 million tons of steel and China over 1 billion.
On its face, foreign production and import of steel into the United States may offer the temporary gift of lower prices. But questions abound regarding the quality of foreign steel. Others have raised concerns about the impact of closing domestic mills, a pressured fabrication industry, and the growing reliance on foreign countries for a material critical for American construction, infrastructure, and defense.
In 2017, the Department of Commerce explored these issues during a nine-month investigation, ultimately concluding that high import volumes of foreign steel weakened the U.S. Steel Industry. At that time, the DOC recognized that imports of foreign steel had risen above 25% and plant closures in the United States would threaten the United States’ ability to produce steel for defense needs.
