For aluminum and steel, the impact of the tariff hike was also seen to be limited on Chinese exports, according to sources.

China’s exports of aluminum products to the US have already seen a significant decline since 2018 due to anti-dumping and countervailing investigations, the sources said. In 2017 the US was China’s largest export destination for aluminum products.

China exported 236,000 mt of aluminum products to the US in 2023, accounting for 4.5% of China’s total exports, according to state-run research agency Antaike.

China does not encourage exports of primary aluminum, as its production process is regarded as energy intensive, sources said.

The country also resumed a 30% export tax on certain alloy products containing aluminum, deterring higher exports of aluminum.

“The proportion of China’s aluminum exports to US is not high,” the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said May 15 in a statement.

China’s aluminum exports did not cause any “harm” to the US and only benefited downstream customers, which also encourages healthy development of the global aluminum industry, the association said, asking the US to remove the tariffs.

Meanwhile in steel, China’s weak domestic demand due to an ailing property sector has been forcing the industry to ship steel to global markets.

China’s steel exports reached a seven-year high in 2023, marking a 40% year-on-year rise, according to customs data. But the share of exports to the US was less than 1% of China’s total finished steel exports.

“We haven’t exported to the US for a long time due to high tariffs...I don’t think China’s steel exports to the US could increase this year,” a steel mill source said.

----S&P Global Commodity Insights.