U.S. Steel, AK Steel Shares Drop After Steel Import Tariffs Disappoint

Shares of U.S. Steel Corp. dropped 2.6% and of AK Steel Holding Corp. shed 3% in morning trade Wednesday, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch said the preliminary anti-dumping tariffs levied on corrosion-resistant steel imports from China, India, Korea and Italy were "largely disappointing." The 256% tariff levied on China by the U.S. Commerce Department may grab headlines, but analyst Timna Tanners indicated that was already expected. But Tanners said the levies of 6.7% on India, 3.1% on Italy and 3.3% on Korea--no tariffs were levied on Taiwan--means those countries will be able to keep shipping to the U.S. "without much pain." Tanners said the companies most exposed to steel imports from those countries are U.S. Steel, at 91% of revenue, and AK Steel, at about 80% or revenue. U.S. Steel's stock has tumbled 67% year to date, while AK Steel's has plunged 62%. Among shares of companies Tanners said was less exposed, Steel Dynamics Inc.'s rose 1.4% on Wednesday and Nucor Corp. slipped 0.2%.