Supply Chain Research

Not all trade cases end in tariffs. The U.S. ITC has decided that exports of silicon metal from four countries have not materially injured U.S. industry with the result that duties won’t be applied. The case was only partly successful anyway. While imports from Australia and Kazakhstan have dropped to zero, those from Brazil and Norway surged. As a result imports in the three months to January 31 were 37% higher than a year earlier. While the steel industry hasn’t been harmed, buyers in the aluminum and semiconductor industries will have been as average import values per ton have climbed...