As early as 1806, 20% of the UK's total pig iron production was sold abroad. With the development of the steel industry and large-scale ships, the volume of international steel trade has increased rapidly. In 1955, the world's steel exports were 26.12 million tons, which increased to 107 million tons in 1973 and remained at 120 million tons in the late 1970s. In the 1970s, the average steel export volume of the world, if converted into steel, was about one-quarter of the average steel output in Japan, 25.4 to 44.5% in Japan, 35.5 to 59.5% in the Federal Republic of Germany, 40.8 to 59.2% in France, Belgium, Luxembourg's largest, up to 90%. The largest share of steel exports in total exports is Japan, which is 12.1 to 19.4%. In the past, the export volume of steel from the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Federal Republic of Germany ranked first in the world. Since the late 1960s, Japan has been the largest exporter of steel, followed by the sum of steel exports from the five countries of the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France in the 1970s, accounting for more than 60% of the world total, of which Japan accounts for the world's total. 20.0 to 30.1%.
In the international trade of steel, the net flow of steel exports after deduction of imports is generally from developed countries or sub-developed countries to secondary or developed countries; from countries with low production costs to countries with high production costs, but some production High-cost countries; their governments formulate subsidies to encourage the export of steel in order to obtain foreign exchange and develop their own steel industry. The United States, once the largest steel exporter, became the largest steel importer in the 1970s. The average annual net import of steel was 12.7 million tons, accounting for 11.7% of the world's average annual total imports.
