[Click eStock] "SeAH Steel Holdings Expected to Benefit from US Steel Import Restrictions"

Hana Securities forecasted that SeAH Steel Holdings would see improved performance benefiting from the U.S. steel import regulations.

Seongbong Park, a researcher at Hana Securities, predicted, "In the second half of this year, the performance of SeAH Steel, SeAH Steel Holdings' domestic subsidiary, and SeAH Steel USA, its U.S. subsidiary, is expected to improve significantly."

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish the existing quota system, TRQ (Tariff Rate Quota), and various exemptions under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, imposing a uniform 25% steel tariff on all countries effective from the 12th.

This is expected to lead to a reduction in U.S. steel imports and an increase in domestic prices. Already, the price of OCTG (Oil Country Tubular Goods) in the U.S. has risen by 30.6% compared to before Trump's executive order was signed. For Canada and Mexico, a universal tariff based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) has been implemented but deferred until April 2. If finally enforced, the U.S. steel tariffs on these countries could combine two regulations and reach up to 50%.

Researcher Park explained, "Last year, South Korea ranked first with 950,000 tons of steel pipe exports to the U.S., while Canada and Mexico ranked second and third, exporting a total of 1.23 million tons to the U.S. If the 50% tariff on these countries is confirmed, a significant portion of their export share will be subject to the 25% tariff, but since the quota system is abolished for South Korea, it is highly likely that South Korea will gain a larger share."

He also saw a high possibility of SeAH Steel Holdings securing orders during the expansion of LNG production capacity in the U.S. and Qatar.

Park said, "Global LNG production capacity is expected to increase roughly 40-50% from the current 410 million tons to 600 million tons between 2028 and 2030, with the U.S. and Qatar leading major LNG projects," adding, "During this process, Trump is expected to accelerate various pipeline constructions, including urging the Keystone Pipeline project, and especially, orders for stainless steel (STS) pipes related to LNG projects are expected to expand."

He continued, "SeAH Steel can produce STS pipes for LNG projects at its domestic factories ranging from small to large diameters, and including SeAH Steel Holdings' Italian subsidiary, Inoxtec, it has a total STS pipe production capacity of 113,000 tons," adding, "Based on this, it has already succeeded in securing orders for LNG projects in Canada, Mozambique, and Qatar, so it is judged that there is a high possibility of related orders during the future expansion of LNG projects in the U.S. and Qatar."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.