ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses world iron and steel trade with a focus on the four Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Both inter- and intra-regional trade is considered in this study. Steel production, consumption and trade that depends on comparative advantage or competitiveness are affected by the driving forces behind them. Categorisation of steel products follows the United Nations’ Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). The classification of commodities by two digit SITC data is too broad to draw out major implication about trends in world steel trade and specialisation of each country or region. Overall, Germany and Japan have been the largest iron and steel exporters throughout the periods studied. Japan has consistently exported more than $10 b (billion), while Germany exported $8 b in 1975 and $14 b in 1992, becoming the largest exporter. The dominant exporters of iron and steel in their primary forms are developed countries.
