According to data released by the Japan Iron and SteelFederation on January 31, Japan’s steel exports in 2018 fell 4.2% from theprevious year to 36.52 million tons, a decline for five consecutive years.Affected by the US tariff on steel and aluminum products, the export of steelto the United States fell sharply by 20.0%.

The Japan Iron and Steel Federation said that domestic demandfor steel is strong, and the decline in exports has little impact on the entireindustry.

Data show that in 2018 Japan exported 1.492 million tons ofsteel to the United States and 29.531 million tons of exports to Asia.