US trade court rules Trump’s 10% global tariff illegal
The US Court of International Trade ruled that the 10 percent global tariff imposed by president Donald Trump under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 is illegal, marking the second judicial defeat this year for the administration’s tariff regime.
Trump invoked Section 122, a never-before-used provision allowing temporary import surcharges of up to 15 percent for 150 days to address balance-of-payments deficits, back in February after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier sweeping tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Section 122 surcharge was set to expire July 24.
The court rejected the administration’s argument that the statute’s reference to “balance-of-payments deficits” is equivalent to a trade deficit. The majority wrote that permitting the president to select among sub-accounts to identify such a deficit would grant the executive virtually unlimited tariff authority that belongs to Congress. The third judge dissented, finding the law allows the president broader leeway.
The injunction applies only to the plaintiffs, namely, two small businesses and the state of Washington, while collections continue for most importers. Claims brought by a larger group of Democratic-led states were dismissed for lack of standing. The Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal on May 8 with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The ruling does not affect steel and aluminum tariffs, which were imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 on national security grounds and remain in force.
Tenaris acquires Artrom Steel Tubes to expand seamless pipe capacity in Europe
Luxembourg-headquartered international steel tube producer Tenaris has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Romanian steel and seamless pipe manufacturer Artrom Steel Tubes S.A. The deal is set to strengthen Tenaris’s production base in Europe and expand its product offering for customers in the industrial pipe segment.
According to the company’s announcement, Tenaris will acquire 100% of the share capital of Artrom Steel Tubes S.A. from GLGH Steel, LLC, a US-based company. The aggregate purchase price has been set at €86 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis, including a normalized level of working capital. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2026.
Artrom Steel Tubes S.A. manufactures steel and seamless steel pipes in Romania. The company operates two major production sites:
Reșița facility: annual steelmaking capacity of approximately 450,000 mt
Slatina facility: seamless pipe rolling capacity of up to 200,000 mt per year
These assets are expected to support Tenaris’s European industrial pipe operations and strengthen its regional manufacturing network.
European heavy plate round-up: EU plate stable as CBAM costs suggest price floors
Activity in the European heavy plate market has been limited in the week to 8 May, but this has not resulted in any significant change in prices.
“Demand for plate in on the lower side, but the market is not completely dead and some volumes are traded,” an Italian buyer said.
Italian re-rollers have been settling deals for s235jr/s275jr grade plate at around EUR750/t ex-works for big tonnages and at EUR760-780/t ex-works for smaller lots.
Despite a lack of support from demand, plate prices are unlikely to slide due to high costs for steelmakers, particularly re-rollers.
European re-rollers traditionally rely on imported semi-finished products and after taking into account Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) duties, they have little room for discounts.
Slab offers have been heard at $600-610/t CIF for material from China. The next round of purchases is expected to be settled at around $600/t CIF.
Re-rollers must take CBAM duties into account, which they estimate to be around EUR50-80/t. However, until exporters secure the required verification, which will take place in 2027 for imports custom cleared in 2026, European importers face the risk that duties will be calculated using default values, potentially leading to significantly higher costs.
Domestic prices were supported by reduced capacities, as two Italian re-rollers – Metinvest and Marcegaglia – had production stoppages at their rolling mills.
In Germany, domestic s235jr plate prices have been reported at EUR800-850/t ex-works.
| Weekly European heavy plate, slab and green steel | |||||
| Unit | Term | 08-May-26 | Change | ||
| Weekly heavy plate | |||||
| Northwest Europe ex-works heavy plate | EUR/t | EX-WORKS | 820.00 | 0.00 | |
| Germany delivered heavy plate (Northwest Europe) | EUR/t | DEL | 860.00 | 0.00 | |
| Italy ex-works heavy plate | EUR/t | EX-WORKS | 765.00 | -10.00 | |
| Weekly steel slab | |||||
| Italy CFR slab | $/t | CFR | 605.00 | -5.00 | |
| Weekly green steel | |||||
| Green heavy plate premium (scopes 1-3 CO2 under 1t) | EUR/t | 25.00 | 0.00 | ||
Author: Benjamin Steven & Maria Tanatar
European coil and green steel round-up: EU coil market stable, muted trading activity
European coil prices remained largely stable in the week to 8 May while trading activity remained muted and the majority of steelmakers still have June shipment coil.
Buyers have been avoiding restocking beyond filling gaps for particular specifications in their portfolio. The slowdown in apparent demand has also been driven by a lack of clarity regarding new import quotas to be implemented as part of new safeguard measures due to take effect from 1 July. While the general framework is clear, including a reduction of quotas by 47% and doubling duties to 50%, no decision has been announced regarding country-specific quotas.
The lack of clarity has led buyers to shift from import to domestic suppliers, but overseas material already custom-cleared in the EU has been available at more competitive prices compared to domestic coil, according to market sources.
Some revival in demand is expected once the new quotas are revealed, and buyers will be able to plan their purchases.
The reduced availability of imported coil and impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) failed to prevent domestic price declines.
“European prices lost momentum and the support from CBAM, reduced import volumes, and tougher trade measures did not prevent the decrease,” a distributor said.
While the majority of market sources agreed that different mills aligned their hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices on an ex-works basis at the lower end of last week’s range, they also do not see a significant decline in delivered prices due to rising transportation costs.
In Northwest Europe, deals and workable prices for June-July shipment domestic HRC have been reported at EUR680-695/t ex-works. Some official offers remained higher – at around EUR700/t ex-works.
In Italy, domestic HRC prices have been heard at EUR570-590/t ex-works.
Import availability remained limited as some exporters were holding back offers awaiting a final decision on quotas.
In South Europe, a Turkish steelmaker has been offering HRC at EUR590-600/t CIF Italy, including anti-dumping duties. Buyers showed limited interest in the material as Turkish mills have already sold significant volumes to the EU and they are likely to exceed quotas, exposing potential importers to 50% duties.
Offers of HRC from Thailand have been reported at EUR660-670/t CIF and from Algeria – at around EUR670/t CIF.
Availability of imported HRC custom-cleared in 2025, before CBAM came into force, remained high and at prices more competitive than both new import offers and domestic prices – around EUR640-650/t DDP.
New offers of HRC from Asia have been reported at EUR700/t DDP European ports.
Green steel market
Spot buyers have largely continued to avoid booking green steel due to concerns over additional cost risks. However, demand from end users and projects has shown some improvement amid efforts toward meeting decarbonisation targets.
In particular, the construction and automotive sectors find lower-CO2 steel an effective and relatively straightforward way to reduce their carbon footprints.
End users have been accepting higher premiums, whereas spot buyers have generally only been willing to pay EUR80–100/t, mainly for back-to-back transactions.
| Weekly European steel coil | |||||
| EUR/t | Term | 08-May-26 | Change | ||
| Weekly Northwest Europe steel coil | |||||
| Northwest Europe ex-works HRC | EX-WORKS | 685.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe ex-works CRC | EX-WORKS | 820.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe ex-works HDG | EX-WORKS | 820.00 | 5.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe CIF HRC | CIF | 620.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe DDP port HRC | DDP Port | 720.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Show more… | |||||
| Source: McCloskey by OPIS. | © 2026 Dow Jones Energy Limited. | ||||
| Weekly green steel | |||
| EUR/t | Term | 08-May-26 | Change |
| Green Northwest Europe HRC premium (scopes 1-3 CO2 under 0.8t) | 100.00 | 0.00 | |
| Green Northwest Europe ex-works HRC (scopes 1-3) | EX-WORKS | 785.00 | 0.00 |
| Green HRC premium (scopes 1-2 CO2 under 0.5t) | 100.00 | 0.00 | |
| Green Northwest Europe ex-works HRC (scopes 1-2) | EX-WORKS | 785.00 | 0.00 |
| Green HRC reduced carbon price (scopes 1-3) | 74.66 | 0.00 | |
Author: Benjamin Steven & Maria Tanatar