The latest EU Trade News from DG TRADE

Welcome to this week’s edition of EU Trade News.

1. European Commission responds to the US restrictions on steel and aluminium affecting the EU
2. Commissioner Malmström visits Singapore to advance EU economic ties with South East Asia
3. The 10th Union for the Mediterranean Trade Ministerial
4. Commissioner Malmström unveils 15-point plan to make EU trade and sustainable development chapters more effective
5. OECD Report: Governance Frameworks to Counter Illicit Trade
6. Tweet of the week

European Commission responds to the US restrictions on steel and aluminium affecting the EU

The European Commission takes note of the announcement by the President of the United States of the imposition of restrictions in the form of an import surcharge on EU exports to the US of steel and aluminium.

Read more >>

Commissioner Malmström visits Singapore to advance EU economic ties with South East Asia

Commissioner Cecilia Malmström is in Singapore to attend the annual consultations today between the EU Trade Commissioner and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers. Read more >> 

The 10th Union for the Mediterranean Trade Ministerial

The European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and the Jordanian Minister of Trade, Industry and Supply H.E. Eng. Yarub Qudah, as Union for the Mediterranean Co- Presidencies are hosting the 10th Union for the Mediterranean Trade Ministerial Conference

Read more >> 

Commissioner Malmström unveils 15-point plan to make EU trade and sustainable development chapters more effective

Commissioner Malmström has outlined the EU’s revamped approach to trade and sustainability in its trade agreements.

Read more >> 

OECD Report: Governance Frameworks to Counter Illicit Trade

Our friends at the OECD have launched a new report: Governance Frameworks to Counter Illicit Trade.
Read the report
Read the press release.
The video recording of the launch event in Washington will be available here in the coming days.

Tweet of the week

Revista INFOACERO- Febrero 2018

En el enlace siguiente pueden acceder a la edición de febrero de nuestra revista Infoacero: Infoacero febrero 2018

A continuación destacamos algunos de sus contenidos:

•     Opinión – D. José Horcajo- Presidente A.A.H.Z.C. y miembro de la Junta de la UAHE.
•     Evolución del Índice de Precios de Productos Siderúrgicos – UAHE.
•     Asesoría  Legal– “El consentimiento y los datos personales”- D. Javier Edo- Asesor UAHE
•     Acuerdos de Colaboración de la UAHE: condiciones especiales para nuestros asociados (Solred, Cepsa, NH&Hesperia, Euromaster, Impuestalia y Asnef Empresas).
•     Próximos Eventos: Steel Markets Europe, Bienal Máquina Herramienta y Advanced Factories.

AM increases SSC capacity by 100,000 mt in Neuwied

ArcelorMittal is increasing the capacity of its sheet service centre in Neuwied, northwestern Germany, by 100,000 mt to 500,000 mt/year, the company said Tuesday.

The company is investing €16.50 million in the SSC, which processes sheet from its own Bremen, Eisenhuettenstadt and Ghent mills. The investment also comprises of a new slitting line, crane facility and a cutter block.

The slitting line is expected to be operational by the end of this year and increase the annual capacity of the site by 100,000 mt. The line can slit coils with a thickness of up to 4mm.

“We are investing in a significant capacity expansion and several automation projects to increase productivity and health and safety at the sote, said managing director Friedrich Raffauf. Neuwied supplies primarily the automotive, mechanical engineering and plant manufacturing industry, the company said.

The SSC, which has its own jetty to the river Rhine, was opened in 1998. ArcelorMittal has six service centers in Germany and 16 distribution centers, as well as its integrated flats and longs works.

Laura Varriale, PLATTS

ArcelorMittal makes major investment in German service centre

ArcelorMittal is investing a total of €16.5 million ($20.1m) in its steel service centre in Neuwied on the Rhine, Kallanish learns from the company.

It has already spent €6.5m, and will spend another €10m up to the end of the year, some of which will be invested in setting up a new slitting line.

In January, the Neuwied site began operating a new slitter shaft robot, with a second one following in March. The robots will automatically equip the steel shafts with blades weighing 20 kg, and then forward the shafts into the coil cutting machinery. The automation of this process increases operator safety the company says. Two new crane units will also be ready to start operation in March

The new slitting line intended to commence operations at the end of the year will be able to handle coils of 30 tonnes weight and a strip thickness of up to 4mm. Neuwied will then be able to raise its production capacity by another 100,000 tonnes/year, in addition to its current capacity of 400,000 tonnes. The new line will also be equipped with slitter shaft robots and automatic separation shafts. In addition, there will be a new packaging line that automatically prepares cut sheet and coil for transport.

Managing director Friedrich Raffauf says that the modernisation will mean that employees are spared from the dangerous handling of heavy machinery. The Neuwied plant employs 100 people and processes strip from the group’s mills in Ghent, Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt.

Global output grew in January despite winter cuts in China

Global steel output continued to grow in January, despite the headwinds in China caused by the winter steel capacity cuts, according to the World Steel Association.

Global output in the month was 139.4 million mt, an increase of 0.8% compared to the January 2017 total. However, at 70% the utilization rate was down 0.2% compared to a year earlier suggesting global capacity – as recognized by the World Steel Association – has come back online and weighed on overall utilization.

Production in China was down 0.9% year on year to 67 million mt, but overall Asian output grew 0.3% on growth in Vietnam (+38.8%), India (+2.5%) and South Korea (+2.7%). Indian output was just 2,000 mt lower than Japan’s (9.3 million mt) as the country looks set to become the world’s second-largest producer.

In the European Union, production grew 1.4% to just under 14.4 million mt, with growth in Italy particularly strong at 5.3%. Turkish output also remained strong, registering 7.6% on year growth to 3.2 million mt, while Russian output slipped 3.9% to 5.7 million mt.

North American production fell on the back of a 2.2% decline in the US, even as prices rose dramatically and imports were squeezed by the raft of duties.

In South America output rose 3.2% to 3.6 million mtas Brazil, the powerhouse, maintained moderate growth of 1.3%.

Africa (+15.1%) and the Middle East (+11.4%) recorded the strongest growth, with Egypt and Iran driving production in the two emerging regions.

Australian output also saw a surge of 12.9%, likely related to Liberty’s takeover of Onesteel.

Peter Brennan, PLATTS