State-owned steel maker encourages tariff talks amid resumed TIFA

The resumed Taiwan-US TIFA talks have been invigorating domestic industries. Under this backdrop, Wong Chao-tung, chairman of the Taiwan Iron and Steel Association and China Steel Corporation (CSC), said with the steel industry as a part of the restructuring of the global supply chain, and with the U.S. promoting green energy infrastructure, Wong sees potential cooperation.

Among the products that CSC offers is the Electromagnetic Steel Sheet that would be a good fit with future green energy projects, as the CSC-developed sheet is also a high-quality product applied in electric vehicles. Other applications, such as special steel materials used in solar-use modules, are also CSC specialties.

Wong has placed his full support regarding the TIFA talks and encouraged representatives to put the U.S. Section 232 Tariffs on Steel & Aluminum on the table for discussion, with hopes to reduce tax rates.

Weng Chaodong pointed out that the iron and steel industry fully supports the resumption of the Taiwan-US TIFA talks. If the 232 tariffs can be included in the agenda, there will be a chance to reduce the tax rate, which will be of substantial help to bolster sales in the U.S. market.

He added that reducing the tax rate could also alleviate the current supply and demand imbalance caused by high steel prices and inflation.

The global supply chain reorganization has affected the semiconductor industry and emphasized the steel industry's crucial role in maintaining stability. For instance, electric vehicles, motors, driveshafts, etc., are all sectors with great cooperation opportunities, as Tesla's electric vehicles require top-level electromagnetic steel.

The reopening of the U.S. economy has helped bolster Taiwan's steel industry. Wong pointed out that their U.S.-bound exports had rebounded this year, an indicator of the strong demand for steel in reopening economies, especially under the Biden administration's infrastructure bid.