Atlas Tube to absorb duties vs Canada product

NEW YORK — Atlas Tube will pay the 25% duties levied on its Canadian shipments destined for the United States, the company told customers in a letter dated Thursday May 31.
 
Atlas Tube, a division of Chicago-based Zekelman Industries, “will pay the import tariff for products shipped to you from our Canadian facilities,” the company said. Atlas operates a tube mill in Harrow, Ontario, as well as a warehouse in Oak Bluff, Manitoba, along with four facilities in the US. 

US President Donald Trump imposed 25% duties on imports of Canadian steel starting June 1, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on May 31. 

“We want to assure you that Atlas Tube is prepared for this development,” the company said. “We anticipate no interruption in supply and have sufficient capacity to supply your structural tubing needs.” 

American Metal Market’s assessment of US hollow sections ex-mill ASTM A500 structural tubing prices were flat at $1,100-$1,150 per short ton on May 31, although market participants braced for the impact of finalized Section 232 tariffs.

There’s a question about whether Canadian tube mills could leverage Canadian-US dollar exchange rates to offset some of that 25% duty, one structural tube buyer said on May 31, before hearing of Atlas’ letter. 

For Canadian mills to raise their sales prices to US customers by 25% overnight is a “huge, huge increase,” this buyer said, citing Atlas and Welded Tube of Canada as two of his bigger Canadian hollow structural sections suppliers.


Source: AMM