[SMM Steel] The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) urged the USTR to impose cumulative tariffs under the Section 301 investigation targeting economies linked to global steel overcapacity. AISI highlighted record Chinese steel exports of 131 million mt in 2025 and rising shipments from India, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico. The institute argued that subsidized exports and redirected trade flows are pressuring the US steel market. If approved, additional Section 301 tariffs could be added on top of existing Section 232 duties, potentially lifting total US steel tariffs on some countries to 60-75%.

The UK plans to impose 50% steel tariffs and a 60% quota cut starting July 2026, potentially driving prices above €1,000/ton, causing the highest in Europe. Similarly, EU steel prices have risen 20% since October 2025, with a 34% total surge expected by mid-2026 due to new safeguards and CBAM. In stark contrast, the Indian Ministry of Steel issued a decree on April 27, 2026, exempting MSMEs from QCO compliance for specific stainless steel imports until October 2026. While Europe faces criticism for strangling its manufacturing backbone with bureaucracy and duties, India is moving to de-bureaucratize and support its smaller industrial players.

[SMM Steel] The European Union is considering raising out-of-quota steel tariffs to 50% while cutting duty-free quotas to 18.3 million mt, with potential implementation from July 1, 2026. In the short term, this may reduce export volumes and increase costs for Vietnamese shipments, as the EU accounts for over 20% of Vietnam’s steel exports (~$1.4 billion in 2025). The tighter regime is likely to weaken competitiveness and force exporters to redirect cargoes to other markets.

The UK construction industry has strongly criticized proposed trade measures that would introduce stricter steel tariffs of 50% alongside quota reductions of up to 60%. Industry representatives warn these measures will drastically inflate costs for private housing and public infrastructure, particularly threatening the viability of companies involved in the €115 billion HS2 railway project, where large volumes of imported steel are already contracted. Thorsten Gerber, CEO of the Gerber Group, warned that these protectionist approaches disproportionately harm SMEs, automotive manufacturers, and the entire downstream metal processing sector, urging both London and Brussels to reconsider their strategies to avoid massive economic damage and widespread job losses.

In January 2026, the European Union and India reached a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with the elimination of steel tariffs of up to 22% becoming a major market focus. However, clearing the policy fog of "bilateral exemptions" and analyzing actual export and carbon emission data reveals that the steel industry faces a highly asymmetric trade reshaping. This seemingly fair reduction is actually Europe trading a "capped" ticket for India's "uncapped" massive incremental market.

Since Q2, the issuance of local government bonds has significantly accelerated. A review of the Special Bond Information Network by reporters revealed that as of June 12, local government bond issuance this year had exceeded 4 trillion yuan, with newly added special bonds accounting for nearly 40%. Experts stated that fiscal policy will remain one of the key supports for economic resilience in Q2, and the issuance of local government bonds is expected to further increase, driving steady growth in infrastructure investment throughout the year. This year, there has been a notable increase in the issuance scale of new bonds allocated to major projects through local government bonds, primarily in the form of newly added special bonds. Data shows that among the 4,483.4 billion yuan of local government bonds issued so far, 1,645.7 billion yuan are newly added local government bonds, and 359.6 billion yuan are newly added general bonds.