On April 2, 2025, the White House declared a national emergency due to the growing U.S. goods trade deficits, which reached $1.2 trillion in 2024. The administration correlates these deficits with unfair tariff rates and non-tariff barriers from foreign countries, which hurt U.S. exports. To address this, the President announced new duties on all imports, starting at 10%, with higher rates for certain countries. These measures aim to balance trade, boost domestic manufacturing, and improve national security. However, these newly introduced tariffs do not apply to steel pipe, which is already subject to tariffs under the revised Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
For API Line Pipe Distributors, particularly those dealing with X65 Pipe, these changes pose significant challenges. With the indefinite idling of the U.S. Steel Lorain mill in 2020, domestic production in the United States of seamless X65 pipe with a 12″ outer diameter (OD) or larger has ground to a halt. Additionally, heavy wall sizes like 1.250″ and 1.5″ in SAWL (Longitudinal Submerged Arc-welded) pipes are either not produced in the U.S. or require purchasing quantities that would likely exceed several years of national demand for a given OD/wall combination. Our reliance on imports is driven by the need for specialized products and manageable order sizes.
Despite these challenges, Omega Steel stands firm on its commitment to be America’s X65 Specialist. We have a substantial amount of inventory on order and in transit, ensuring a steady supply of these hard-to-find and challenging sizes. Our dedication to improving our capabilities means we will continue to enhance our ability to serve the industry, providing reliable access to the specialized X65 Pipe products that our customers need.
How are the newly introduced Tariffs affecting you?