I remember when the steel plants of South Chicago and Gary, Indiana shut down one by one…..leaving so many unemployed.

From Resource Investor:

SHANGHAI (Interfax-China) — China’s steel product exports surged 116.7% year-on-year in the first five months of this year, according to a Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) official.

China exported 27.44 million tonnes of steel products in the first five months, up 116.7% from last year, while May exports stood at 6.17 million tonnes, dipping 13.83% from April, Yang Hongbin, a MOFCOM official from the Shanghai office, announced at the 3rd Steel Industry Development Strategy Conference, held in Shanghai last weekend, according to state-run newspaper the Shanghai Securities Journals.

Steel product imports in the first five months fell 6% year-on-year to 7.28 million tonnes. China’s steel product net exports amounted to 20.16 million tonnes in the first five months, creating a $9.44 billion trade surplus, according to Yang.

Yang commented that the explosive growth was partly due to market expectations of a policy to increase the export tax on steel products, which resulted in vigorous sales by exporters over the five-month period.

Following the government’s May 23 announcement that a 5% to 10% tax on 83 types of semi-finished steel product would be implemented on June 1, domestic steel product prices have since declined drastically.

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