Major events in the steel industry in April 2026
On April 2, Trump signed a statement to adjust import tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum and copper. The statement pointed out that the United States maintains a 50% import tariff on the import of bulk commodities such as steel, aluminum and copper. Derivative products with a steel, aluminum or copper content of less than 15% will cancel the 50% tariff in Section 232. Derivative products with a steel, aluminum or copper content of more than 15% will be levied a 25% tariff based on the total value of the goods.
On April 2, Iran’s Isfahan Mubarak Steel Plant announced a complete halt to production. The steel plant issued a statement saying that due to the severe damage caused by recent attacks, related production facilities were damaged, resulting in the shutdown of all production lines.
On April 2, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam made a preliminary affirmative anti-circumvention ruling on hot-rolled coils originating in China, and imposed a temporary anti-dumping tax on hot-rolled coils with a width of more than 1880 mm and less than or equal to 2300 mm, with a tax rate of 27.83%.
On April 2, according to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Trade, Chinese company Fujian Hengwang Investment Co., Ltd. plans to invest US$1.2 billion in building a large-scale integrated short-process steel plant in Kazakhstan.
On April 14, the World Steel Association predicted that global steel demand will increase slightly by 0.3% to 1.724 billion tons in 2026, and demand will accelerate by 2.2% to 1.762 billion tons in 2027.
On April 15, China Fangda Special Steel announced that its subsidiary Jiangxi Fangda Iron and Steel Group Enterprise Investment Co., Ltd. had acquired part of the equity of five companies including Sichuan Desheng Group for 2.45 billion yuan. After the transaction is completed, it will control the above-mentioned companies.
On April 17, China's Anshan Iron and Steel Guangzhou Automotive Steel No. 2 production line was officially put into operation. The production line has world-class equipment and a competitive advantage that can meet the needs of differentiated high-end automobile exterior panels. Once put into operation, it will effectively consolidate and enhance Anshan Iron and Steel Automotive Steel's market leading position and precise service capabilities in South China.
On April 17, the launch conference and product promotion conference of China's Fushun Special Steel high-alloy plate intelligent production line was held in Fushun, Liaoning. The production line consists of 6 production lines including hot rolling, cold rolling, heat treatment, pickling, thick plate finishing, and thin plate finishing, with an annual designed output of 8,000 tons.
On April 23, China issued the "Comprehensive Evaluation and Assessment Methods for Carbon Neutralization of Carbon Peaking". In order to achieve the goal of carbon peaking before 2030, it formulated the "15th Five-Year Plan" carbon peaking action plan to ensure that the carbon emission intensity in 2030 is reduced by more than 65% compared with 2005, and the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption in 2030 reaches 25%.
On April 29, according to the information conference of the China Iron and Steel Association, in the first quarter, the cumulative operating income of key steel companies was 1,489.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%; the operating costs were 1,406.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%; the total profit was 21.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5.1%; the sales profit margin was 1.46%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.09 percentage points.
On April 2, Iran’s Isfahan Mubarak Steel Plant announced a complete halt to production. The steel plant issued a statement saying that due to the severe damage caused by recent attacks, related production facilities were damaged, resulting in the shutdown of all production lines.
On April 2, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam made a preliminary affirmative anti-circumvention ruling on hot-rolled coils originating in China, and imposed a temporary anti-dumping tax on hot-rolled coils with a width of more than 1880 mm and less than or equal to 2300 mm, with a tax rate of 27.83%.
On April 2, according to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Trade, Chinese company Fujian Hengwang Investment Co., Ltd. plans to invest US$1.2 billion in building a large-scale integrated short-process steel plant in Kazakhstan.
On April 14, the World Steel Association predicted that global steel demand will increase slightly by 0.3% to 1.724 billion tons in 2026, and demand will accelerate by 2.2% to 1.762 billion tons in 2027.
On April 15, China Fangda Special Steel announced that its subsidiary Jiangxi Fangda Iron and Steel Group Enterprise Investment Co., Ltd. had acquired part of the equity of five companies including Sichuan Desheng Group for 2.45 billion yuan. After the transaction is completed, it will control the above-mentioned companies.
On April 17, China's Anshan Iron and Steel Guangzhou Automotive Steel No. 2 production line was officially put into operation. The production line has world-class equipment and a competitive advantage that can meet the needs of differentiated high-end automobile exterior panels. Once put into operation, it will effectively consolidate and enhance Anshan Iron and Steel Automotive Steel's market leading position and precise service capabilities in South China.
On April 17, the launch conference and product promotion conference of China's Fushun Special Steel high-alloy plate intelligent production line was held in Fushun, Liaoning. The production line consists of 6 production lines including hot rolling, cold rolling, heat treatment, pickling, thick plate finishing, and thin plate finishing, with an annual designed output of 8,000 tons.
On April 23, China issued the "Comprehensive Evaluation and Assessment Methods for Carbon Neutralization of Carbon Peaking". In order to achieve the goal of carbon peaking before 2030, it formulated the "15th Five-Year Plan" carbon peaking action plan to ensure that the carbon emission intensity in 2030 is reduced by more than 65% compared with 2005, and the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption in 2030 reaches 25%.
On April 29, according to the information conference of the China Iron and Steel Association, in the first quarter, the cumulative operating income of key steel companies was 1,489.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%; the operating costs were 1,406.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%; the total profit was 21.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5.1%; the sales profit margin was 1.46%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.09 percentage points.
Release time: 2026-04-30
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