THE HAGUE, WASHINGTON - The Netherlands exported 700 million euros worth of steel to the United States in the first three quarters of 2024. The export value of the steel to the U.S. was 27 percent higher than the previous year, Statistics Netherlands reported. This led to the U.S. rising to third place in the most important export destinations for Dutch steel, with a share of nine percent. 

In total, the Netherlands exported 7.4 billion euros worth of steel in those three quarters. These were mainly rolled, flat products made of iron and steel. The United States is third behind Germany and Belgium when it comes to export destinations of these products, with 13 percent of the export value. 

U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced import tariffs for foreign steel and aluminum. The tariffs of 25 percent are scheduled to apply from March 12, with no exceptions given to any nations. 

The United States also implemented import tariffs on foreign-made steel in 2018. In the two years that followed, fewer sanctioned steel products were exported to the U.S., Statistics Netherlands reported. These exports were 29 percent smaller in 2020 than in 2018. 

Steel imports into America increased again after 2020. This was partly due to higher prices and partly because the import tariffs expired in October 2021. From 2022, U.S. import tariffs were replaced by a tariff-free quota. This meant that the first 3.3 million tonnes of steel from the European Union were imported at a zero percent tariff.