On August 12, 2025, China and the United States released a joint statement after economic and trade talks in Stockholm, deciding to once again suspend the additional 24% tariffs on each other's goods for 90 days while retaining a 10% tariff. This decision stems from the joint statement in Geneva in May this year, followed by multiple in-depth talks in London and Stockholm, aiming to effectively ease the tense situation in bilateral trade.

As a key area of Sino-US trade frictions, the steel industry is expected to be affected in various ways by this tariff adjustment. After the US suspends the additional 24% tariff, the comprehensive tax rate on Chinese steel products exported to the US will drop sharply from 34% to 10%, which will greatly enhance the price competitiveness of Chinese hot-rolled coils, rebars and other products in the US market. In the short term, Chinese steel enterprises are expected to see a significant rebound in export orders to the US, which will to some extent ease the pressure of overcapacity in China. At the same time, the cost of importing Chinese steel for US manufacturing enterprises will be significantly reduced, which is conducive to reducing the production cost burden of downstream industries such as automobiles and machinery. Industry experts predict that bilateral steel trade volume may increase by more than 10% within these 90 days.

As the world's largest steel producers and consumers, China and the US's suspension of tariffs is of great significance and will effectively stabilize the international steel market. The volatility of global steel prices may be reduced, and enterprises' certainty in raw material procurement will be improved. Chinese steel exporters can restart the layout of the supply chain to the US, and US importers can also replenish inventory more calmly. In addition, the pressure of supply and demand mismatch in third-party markets such as Southeast Asia caused by trade diversion will also be effectively alleviated.

However, the suspension of tariffs is only a 90-day temporary measure, which limits its long-term impact to a certain extent. The steel trade cycle is usually long, often spanning several months, so enterprises are difficult to fully adjust their production plans based on this short-term policy. Moreover, the retained 10% tariff still makes the price of Chinese steel products in the US market higher than the historical level, which restricts the rebound space of demand. In addition, the capacity expanded by US local steel mills during the tariff protection period is now facing the risk of overcapacity, which may trigger price competition in the region.

This suspension of tariffs between China and the US provides a valuable buffer period for the steel industry, but the remaining tariffs and the setting of the temporary period also highlight the deep-seated contradictions in bilateral trade. Enterprises in the industry need to pay close attention to the progress of subsequent negotiations and be alert to market fluctuations caused by policy reversals after 90 days. In the long run, the steel industry still needs to actively respond to structural challenges such as global overcapacity and green transformation. Although this tariff suspension has eased the pressure in the short term, the fundamental adjustment of the steel industry still highly depends on a more stable international trade environment. In the future, the trend of Sino-US economic and trade relations will continue to have a profound impact on the global steel market pattern.