Sydney, June 10, 2026, 07:02 AEST
- BlueScope Steel traded at A$33.19 before the main ASX session, up around 4.6% for the week and near its A$33.635 high for 2026.
- The ASX cash market sat in pre-open. Regular trading is scheduled from roughly 09:59:45 until 16:00 in Sydney.
- BlueScope’s Orrcon unit is back on the radar after a new anti-circumvention ruling on hollow steel sections, covering torque tubes used in solar projects.
BlueScope Steel traded just below its 2026 peak ahead of the ASX open on Wednesday. Investors are watching a fresh Australian trade duty dispute involving BlueScope’s Orrcon Manufacturing, which has faced resistance from renewable-energy project developers.
The stock last traded at A$33.19, off its 2026 high of A$33.635, but still up 4.63% over the past week, market data showed. The rest of the market didn’t fare as well. The S&P/ASX 200 ended Tuesday down 0.24%, with gold, metals and mining, and materials all losing ground.
BlueScope is in a tricky spot as the trade decision could go either way. If duties are imposed, local tube and pipe makers might get protection from cheaper imports. But the flip side is higher steel costs, which could put a drag on Australia’s utility-scale solar projects—an area BlueScope is targeting with Orrcon.
Anti-Dumping Commission case 685 is looking at hollow structural sections shipped from China, Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan into Australia. The case is about anti-circumvention, which targets imports altered just enough to dodge current duties. Orrcon Manufacturing Pty Ltd is named as the applicant, the commission said.
Commission Finds Duty Circumvention on Chinese Steel Pipes
The commission’s final report said Orrcon claimed exporters changed hollow structural sections by drilling holes in them. That put the products outside earlier duty notices, but the goods were still essentially HSS. The commission said circumvention happened, and it recommended broadening duties to cover welded pipe and tube with holes. For “all other” exporters from China, the dumping and countervailing rates together total 48.3%. Countervailing duties are meant to cancel out subsidy benefits.
The decision split opinion. Mark Cain, CEO at Australian Steel Institute, said Australia had to be “much quicker to react” or risk losing businesses. But Renew Economy pointed to solar industry worries that the tariff would increase costs and push back projects. The Australian
Nextpower Australia managing director Peter Wheale told Renew Economy the fallout is hitting more than just manufacturers. “These are not speculative risks,” Wheale said, pointing to immediate effects for projects now moving forward. Renew Economy
BlueScope hasn’t given details on the immediate earnings impact. Orrcon, which is fully owned by BlueScope, was mentioned in a 2024 statement from Nextracker. That statement said Orrcon’s Australian site can make up to 50,000 tonnes of torque tubes, enough for over 2.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar projects.
BlueScope hadn’t posted a new operating update on its ASX page ahead of the open. The most recent items on the ASX page were an Appendix 3X for Michael Morley on June 1 and details on board and committee changes from May 21.
The stock is now trading above the A$30 a share offer that BlueScope turned down in January. That bid was from SGH and Steel Dynamics, the U.S. steelmaker. Chair Jane McAloon said at the time that it was “an attempt to take the company on the cheap,” and the board felt it undervalued BlueScope’s assets and growth.
BlueScope lifted its earnings base in the first half. Back in February, BlueScope said it expected second-half underlying EBIT between A$620 million and A$700 million. EBIT here means profit before interest and tax. The company booked underlying net profit after tax at A$382 million for the half-year, over twice as much as the previous year.
Mess around the duty story could be a problem. Importers and developers might push back against the ruling. Higher solar project costs are possible, while any lift for BlueScope might be slow or too small to matter for group earnings. For most investors, steel spreads, U.S. demand, and memories of the failed takeover bid are still the main factors.
