Steel imports: risk of trade barriers in Japan

Tokyo

A DIFFICULT year just keeps getting tougher for Japan's steelmakers, raising the possibility that the world's second-biggest producer could join the ranks of nations that have raised trade barriers to cheaper imports.

Forced to contend with an unprecedented glut of metal on export markets, and a yen-rate that's doing them no favours, the nation's top mills swung to losses in the first quarter ended June, warning that conditions could deteriorate. Forward three months, and the firms are dealing with new risks around the surging cost of a key raw material and a jump in steel imports.