EU’s green steel transition raises supply issues
The EU’s transition to green steel raises concerns about supply-side constraints given delays to capacity expansions and current offers not meeting customer requirements, German steel distributor Kloeckner’s CEO Guido Kerkhoff said at the EUROMETAL conference in Zurich today.
This could be offset by growing opportunities on the demand side as the EU’s 2050 net zero targets are boosting demand for green steel, which currently exceeds the supply.
A green transition cannot happen immediately but must be implemented gradually, a market participant said. Customer willingness to pay for low-emission products is increasing, particularly for cars and home appliances. “We can’t say this is green and this is not, but we can say this is a greener option for the time being,” executive manager of Handel Schweiz, Andreas Steffes, said.
The shift to electric arc furnaces (EAFs) is very costly and not feasible for every producer, mainly because the scrap supply is limited, Steffes said. Additionally, Germany heavily depends on importing raw materials and cheaper energy owing to a lack of natural sources. This creates a significant challenge for using direct-reduced iron (DRI) in Germany, as there are not enough renewable sources to produce hydrogen, and importing hydrogen is very expensive, partly because of high transportation costs.
So far, there is no uniform standard for green steel, although work is being done in this regard.
To transform the steel industry, several tailwinds should be considered, including establishing a solid political framework, competitively priced green energy, sufficient technological solutions, fair allocations of subsidies, and demand from customers and green markets, senior manager at Swiss Steel, Stefan Feichtinger, said.
By Elif Eyuboglu
European HRC prices remain largely stable amid quiet conditions
Steel mills in Northern Europe were trying to keep spot prices high ahead of negotiations with the automotive industry for the second half of 2024, Fastmarkets understands. Therefore, HRC producers were reluctant to grand discounts despite the slow demand.
Northern European mills continued to aim for €660 ($717) per tonne ex-works for July-delivery HRC, while buyer estimates of the tradable level were no higher than €640 per tonne ex-works.
Lead times were five to six weeks, according to Fastmarkets’ sources.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe, at €638.33 per tonne on Monday, unchanged from May 17.
The index was down by €1.67 per tonne week on week but up by €12.83 per tonne month on month.
Fastmarkets’ corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy, was calculated at €633.33 per tonne on Monday, up by €0.41 per tonne from €632.92 per tonne on May 17.
The index was down by €1.67 per tonne week on week but up by €13.33 per tonne month on month.
Suppliers in Italy continued to offer HRC in the range of €660-670 per tonne delivered, equivalent to €650-660 per tonne ex-works.
An integrated mill in Italy was heard to already be offering July-delivery HRC, but according to buyer sources, some tonnages for the end of June might still be available.
Fastmarkets sources estimated the tradeable market level to be in the range of €620-640 per tonne ex-works.
But trading in Italy was also quiet at the beginning of the week, and no major deals were heard in the market, Fastmarkets understands.
Import offers from Vietnam were heard at €600-610 per tonne CFR Italy.
India was heard offering HRC at $650-660 per tonne CFR Italy.
These prices were similar to the levels offered by the same destinations at the end of last week. But Italian buyers then estimated the tradeable market level at €560-570 per tonne CFR.
US removes Section 232 tariff exemptions for 12 steel and aluminum products
The US will remove Section 232 import duty exemptions for six steel products and six aluminum products that were previously granted duty-free status due to their inclusion in the Commerce Department’s list of General Approved Exclusions, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security said May 20.
Steel products again subject to the US’ 25% Section 232 tariff include those categorized under US Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes 7211296080, 7209900000, 7216330090, 7209270000, 7216100010 and 7208380015, according to a final rule published in the Federal Register.
Aluminum products again subject to the 10% Section 232 tariff include those categorized under HTS codes 7609000000, 7604210010, 7604291010, 7601209080, 7607116010 and 7604295090.
| Steel, aluminum products removed from Section 232 GAE | |
| HTS Product Category Description | HTS Number |
| Flat-Rolled High-Strength Steel Of A Width >600 Mm, In Coils, Not Further Worked Than Hot-Rolled, Of A Thickness >3 Mm But <4.75 Mm | 7208.38.0015 |
| Flat-Rolled Iron Or Nonalloy Steel, Not Coils, 600 Mm Or More Wide ,Cold-Rolled (Cold-Reduced),Over 0.5Mm But Not Over 1Mm Thick, Not Clad Plated Or Coated | 7209.27.0000 |
| Flat-Rolled Iron Or Nonalloy Steel, Coils Or Not, 600Mm Or More Wide, Cold-Rolled, Not Clad, Plated Or Coated, Nesoi | 7209.90.0000 |
| Flat-Rolled Iron Or Nonalloy Steel, 300 To Under 600Mm Wide, Cold-Rolled, Not Clad, Plated Or Coated, 1.25Mm Or Less Thick, 0.25% Or More Carbon | 7211.29.6080 |
| Angles, Shapes And U Sections, Iron Or Nonalloy Steel,Hot Rolled, Hot Drawn,Less Than 80Mm High | 7216.10.0010 |
| Othr H Sections Iron Or Nonalloy Steel Hot-Rolled 80 Mm Or More High | 7216.33.0090 |
| Aluminum Alloy, Sheet Ingot (Slab) | 7601.20.9080 |
| Aluminum Alloy Hollow Profiles, Heat-Treatable Industrial Alloys | 7604.21.0010 |
| Aluminum Alloy Profiles, Heat-Treatable Industrial Alloys, Not Hollow | 7604.29.1010 |
| Aluminum Alloy Bars And Rods Having Other Than Round Cross Section, Nesoi | 7604.29.5090 |
| Aluminum Foil, Boxed, Weighing Lt=11.3 Kg, Of A Thickness Gt 0.01 Mm And Lt=0.15 Mm, Rolled, Not Backed | 7607.11.6010 |
| Aluminum Tube Or Pipe Fittings (Couplings,Elbows Sleeves) | 7609.00.0000 |
The changes are effective July 1.
The US implemented the steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from all countries in March 2018 by utilizing a provision in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allowing the government to impose tariffs in response to alleged national security threats.
The duties have since been modified over the years for specific countries and products. For instance, Canada and Mexico are exempt from the duties while the tariff has been modified to a quota system for the EU.
Cumulatively, US imports of the 12 subject products for which the duty exemptions are now revoked have more than tripled since the 2018 tariffs. Total import volume for these products was over 1.2 million mt in 2023, compared with about 340,000 mt in 2017, according to Commerce data.
Tariff exclusion filing
In August 2018, Commerce authorized a system in which importers could request shipments of specific products to be excluded from the Section 232 tariffs if certain criteria were met, such as a lack of domestic capability to supply a product at necessary quality specifications. Domestic producers are eligible to challenge exclusion requests. With no challenge, the exclusion request has a greater chance of being approved by Commerce.
Commerce has since published five interim final rules and collected public feedback to improve the exclusion request process.
One of these interim rules, issued in late 2020, established a GAE list of 123 steel and aluminum products that would automatically be exempt from the tariffs without the need for importers to file a tariff exclusion request. The list included imported products that were frequently granted exemptions without challenges from domestic producers. The objective of the GAE list was to reduce the number of exclusion request filings, which number in the thousands.
Some industry participants have criticized the tariff exemption process and GAE list for weakening the intent of the Section 232 duties. Others argue that the filing process is burdensome, with significant resources necessary to file, review and challenge the high volume of request filings. For instance, Commerce said the upcoming removal of the 12 subject metal products from the GAE could result in an increase of 1,000 exclusion request submissions per year.
Commerce already removed 30 GAE products in 2021 in response to industry feedback. In August 2023, the department proposed changes to exclusion criteria and introduced a list of General Denied Exclusions, products that were not eligible for tariff exemptions.
The GAE list now contains 81 steel and aluminum products.
Author Nick Lazzaro, nick.lazzaro@spglobal.com
