U.S. lifts ban on Soviet nickel exports

The U.S. will begin to import nickel from the Soviet Union, following an agreement between the two countries to end a 7-year-old ban. The agreement, effective June 28, allows the Soviet Union to export nickel and nickel-bearing products, including stainless steel, to the U.S., providing the materials are exclusively of Soviet origin.

During the 5-year period before the U.S. banned Soviet nickel imports, those imports averaged 5,000 tons per year, or about 2.5% of U.S consumption. But the impact on the U.S nickel market may be greater this time around. According to the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Soviet nickel capacity expanded rapidly in the 1980s and has grown more than 150% in the past five years.

“If future USSR exports to the U.S. are sufficiently large, there will probably be downward pressure on U.S. nickel prices,” said the July issue of the Mineral Industry Survey on nickel. Recently, the New York dealer cathode price for nickel exceeded the London Metals Exchange price by about US14 cents per lb.