US steel imports plunge 35% year-on-year in Q1; March imports rebound month-on-month

According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC), the United States imported a total of 4.63 million tons of steel from January to March 2026, down 34.7% year on year. In the same period last year, U.S. importers made concentrated advance purchases ahead of the 25% steel import tariff imposed by the U.S. government in mid-March 2025.

The data showed that the total value of U.S. steel imports in the first quarter of this year stood at $4.6 billion, plunging 42.4% year on year. The average import price over the period was $996 per ton, down 11.8% year on year.

Looking solely at March, U.S. steel imports reached 1.61 million tons, up 5.4% month on month but still down 29.2% year on year. Import value for the month was $1.6 billion, rising 8.7% month on month and falling 38.5% year on year. The average import price came to $998 per ton, up 3.2% from February.

By major sources, U.S. steel imports from Canada, China’s Taiwan region and Brazil posted notable growth in March. Imports from Canada hit 259,000 tons, surging 26.8% month on month. Steel shipments from Taiwan region soared 136.2% month on month to 74,800 tons.

Mysteel Global noted that local exporters have accelerated shipments mainly to hedge against potential trade restriction risks. Earlier in March, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) launched an investigation under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 to assess whether multiple economies are exporting excess industrial capacity to the United States.

Meanwhile, U.S. steel imports from Brazil amounted to 264,000 tons, up 18.2% month on month.

In contrast, affected by high import tariffs, U.S. steel imports from Japan, Mexico and Argentina dropped markedly. Shipments from Japan fell 45.7% month on month to 69,700 tons; those from Mexico declined 19.8% month on month to 127,700 tons; and exports from Argentina plummeted to merely 9 tons, nearly grinding to a halt.

In addition, the United States imported 22,600 tons of steel from China in March, up 9% month on month.