Dwindling Steel Shipments Undercut Trump’s China Gripe
- Monthly shipments sink to lowest since ‘14 amid clean-air push
- U.S. president had targeted mainland exports during campaign
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
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Just hours before the U.S. president set foot in China, the world’s largest steel producer announced exports have dwindled to the lowest in years, undercutting a repeated gripe from Donald Trump that lit up his campaign and spilled over into his rhetoric in office.
Exports from the country that accounts for half of global production dropped to 4.98 million tons last month, down from September’s 5.14 million, and the lowest since 2014, according to customs figures. That’s a far cry from the monthly peak in late 2015, when they exceeded 11 million tons.