EUROMETAL gives EC input on ongoing steel safeguard measure review
European steel distribution and trading association EUROMETAL President Alexander Julius has written to the European Commission Jan. 10 asking for a couple of changes and some clarification on the ongoing functional review of the EU safeguard measures on steel imports initiated in December.
On Dec. 17, the EC announced a review of the safeguard measures applicable to imports of certain steel products with the aim of reassessing the allocation and management of tariff rate quotas to ensure they align with current market dynamics and stakeholder interests.
In the letter addressed to European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Stephane Sejourne, Executive Vice-President of the EC for the European Green Deal Maros Sefcovic and European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis, Julius requested that the EC extend the deadline for questionnaire submissions from Jan. 10.
He said the Jan. 10 deadline was too restrictive due to the recent holiday season and requested the EC extend the deadline to allow sufficient time for all interested parties to participate fully in the review process.
“Many of our members and stakeholders face significant challenges in gathering the necessary data and preparing their submissions within the given time frame,” he wrote.
Julius also asked for harmonization of customs rules across member states, saying that divergences in customs rules across member states often resulted in inconsistent and incorrect declarations, creating unnecessary administrative burdens and an unequal treatment of European importers.
“We propose that the review addresses the need for harmonized customs procedures across the EU to ensure fair and consistent application of the measures, in order to assess in this respect a level playing field,” he wrote.
EUROMETAL also requested clarification on the definition of EU users within the context of the safeguard measures review, asking whether it included the distribution segment, such as service centres, stockholders, and traders.
Julius said the sector played a pivotal role in supplying 60% of all steel products to end-users and a clear and consistent definition was “crucial to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are appropriately recognized and accounted for in the review process.”
He told the commissioners that EUROMETAL also supported Eurofer’s proposal for the EC to organize a Steel Summit, as it would provide an invaluable platform for stakeholders to engage in discussions about the current challenges facing the steel sector.
Julius said the challenges include “those related to the safeguard measures, and to collaboratively identify solutions that serve the interests of the entire steel value chain.”
We are more than happy to actively participate in this initiative, as we firmly believe that interaction with all our stakeholders is crucial to developing sustainable European manufacturing and steel industry supply chains,” he wrote, saying EUROMETAL remained committed to contributing to essential dialogues.
He said these considerations were vital for ensuring that the revised safeguard measures remain well-aligned with market realities and the interests of all stakeholders in the EU steel sector.
“EUROMETAL stands ready to contribute to the ongoing discussions and provide further evidence or insights,” Julius wrote.
As of Jan. 10, Vietnam, Japan and Taiwan have exhausted the EU’s tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system for hot-rolled coil imports, as per official EC data.
In contrast, 38% of Egypt’s quota is still available. Meanwhile, countries like Australia, Switzerland, the US, Canada, and Libya have not yet utilized their first-quarter quotas, maintaining 100% availability.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed domestic HRC prices in Northern Europe at Eur560/mt ex-works Ruhr Jan. 9, down 19% since the start of 2024.
Italian rebar prices tick up further despite quiet
Some Italian rebar producers are initiating discussions regarding a potential price increase of approximately €20/tonne ($20.6) for deliveries in January, effective next week, Kallanish hears.
Mills previously raised values in December, just before temporarily shutting down their operations for the year-end holiday break. Since then, January asking prices have been at €340/t base ex-works. This compares with €320/t base ex-works earlier in December, which was also achieved in transactions.
Current transaction volume is limited, as buyers are exhibiting a cautious approach, opting to observe market conditions before making commitments. Two buyers, however, say they need to purchase this week.
A few contracts are reported to have been concluded at the base ex-works price of €330/t. A number of buyers are sceptical about the feasibility of an additional €20/t increase, as the €360/t threshold appears unsustainable given the current weak utilisation and pricing dynamics downstream.
Current transactions are priced at €590/t ex-works, including size extras averaging at approximately €260/t. Domestic mesh contracts are also increasing to €430/t, excluding transportation costs – size extras are an additional €300/t, according to sources.
Subdued sales activity continues this week. A rebar seller anticipates the price range of €330-340/t will consolidate next week before contract values progressively rise to a base of €360/t ex-works.
Natalia Capra France
Eurofer proposes reduced safeguard volumes, higher duty
Amid the ongoing review of EU steel import safeguard measures, the European Steel Association (Eurofer) has provided recommendations to the European Commission on making the measures more restrictive, according to Yuriy Rudyuk, partner at Van Bael & Bellis.
Eurofer is proposing reducing tariff-rate quota volumes to reflect declining EU steel demand, raising the safeguard duty to 32-41%, and capping quotas for other product categories at 15%, as was done from July for HRC and wire rod, Rudyuk indicates in a LinkedIn post.
The association has also suggested removing the carry-over option, and replacing residual quotas with country-specific ones. It also advocates halting new exemptions for developing countries in the final year of the measures.
The proposals are expected to face opposition from importers, and industrial users, with the Commission needing to balance Eurofer’s requests against legal constraints under EU and WTO laws, Rudyuk opines.
“We cannot confirm the below as of today we have not yet sent any contribution to the Commission,” Eurofer says in response to a Kallanish request for comment.
The European Commission set the deadline for EU steel users and producers to submit questionnaires as 10 January 2025. The Commission will conclude its review by 31 March 2025, with any decisions potentially applying from 1 April 2025, including a new TRQ volume.
Elina Virchenko UAE
European heavy steel plate market restarts on quiet note; prices hold
In Italy, the market restarted on a quite note after winter holiday stoppages, sources said.
“The past two weeks the market was on pause. We’ve just came back from holidays, and so did the customers,” a mill source in Italy told Fastmarkets. “The real negotiations [for plate sales] are only about to start.”
Italian plate producers were trying to increase prices for new rolling and were targeting offers of €650 ($671) per tonne ex-works for first-quarter production.
Buyer sources estimated tradeable values at €630-640 per tonne ex-works in the week to Wednesday, while mill sources claimed that €640-650 per tonne ex-works was “the minimal level that were ready to sell at, considering high input costs,” Fastmarkets heard.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was €630-640 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since December 18, 2024.
“Even the most aggressive suppliers [of plate] were seeking higher prices, because of the high costs of slab and electricity,” a buyer source said.
In Italy, electricity prices in January were around €138 per MWh, up from a monthly average of €135 per MWh in December 2024 and €130 per MWh in November 2024, according to Italy’s exchange for electricity and natural gas spot trading, Gestore Mercati Energetici (GME). In January 2024, electricity prices in Italy averaged €99 per MWh.
Slab, the key feedstock for plate production, was offered to Italy in a range of $505-530 per tonne CFR from Southeast Asia and China.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel slab import, cfr Italy was $480-530 per tonne on January 3.
In the week commencing January 6, sources reported no fresh offers from Russian suppliers, which usually represent the lower end of the price range.
Northern Europe
Trading in the spot plate market in Northern Europe was also slow, and industry sources expect more clarity in the coming weeks, when more customers return to the market after a holiday break.
“The market has not fully restarted yet. We expect no major changes until end-January,” a German buyer said.
“The market is as sleepy as before the holidays,” a second buyer said.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe was €650-680 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since December 4, 2024.
Buyer estimates of the achievable price for commodity-grade heavy plate were heard at €650-660 per tonne ex-works against the offers of €670-680 per tonne ex-works from German suppliers.
A re-roller in the Czech Republic was offering S275 grade plate at €670 per tonne ex-works, but mainly to locations in Central Europe, compared to €630-650 per tonne before the winter holidays.
Bulgarian producers were aiming for €670-680 per tonne ex-works for the same material, compared to €650 per tonne ex-works last month.
Prices rise in Northern European rebar market; wire rod prices stable
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was €640-645 ($661-666) per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing upward by €30 per tonne from €610-645 per tonne week on week.
Mills raised their rebar offer prices in Northern European after reopening following Christmas closures. The market largely accepted these price rises, Fastmarkets heard.
Meanwhile, international scrap prices edged downward on a weekly basis but increased month on month, Fastmarkets heard.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of its daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was $338.31 per tonne on Wednesday, down from $348.12 per tonne a week earlier and up from $325.00 per tonne a month ago.
The corresponding Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was at €610-620 per tonne, stable week on week.
European green flat steel premiums hold steady; Nordic countries drive demand
Fastmarkets’ methodology defines European green steel as “steel produced with Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions at a maximum of 0.8 tonne of CO2 per tonne of steel.”
During the assessment week, leading European suppliers maintained the premiums for such steel at €200-350 ($206-361) per tonne.
These offers have been broadly stable during the course of 2024, but tradable values for the spot market were lower, sources said.
“When it comes to deals, especially for bigger tonnages, some discounts can be achieved – depending on supplier,” a buyer in Germany said.
Buyer sources estimated achievable premiums for green steel with such levels of emissions to be at €80-150 per tonne, but the lower end of that range was not considered to be workable by mill sources – at least for the mentioned specifications.
As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the green steel domestic, flat-rolled, differential to HRC index, exw Northern Europe, was €100-200 per tonne on Thursday, stable since December 12, 2024.
Market participants said there is a lack of projects across Europe requiring green steel and that demand from the key consumer – the automotive industry – has recently been slowing, in line with the general downturn in steel sales.
Consequently, demand for such steel remained subdued and highly regionalized, sources said, with Nordic countries deemed “champions” in green steel procurement.
“In Scandinavia there are many public projects requiring green steel procurement. There is an actual market for green steel,” a mill source in Europe said.
“So distributors and trading companies there are more keen to buy green; they know they can pass these costs [of green steel] down to the end user,” the mill source added.
Two other supplier sources echoed that view, and told Fastmarkets that they were selling most of their volumes of steel with reduced carbon footprint in the Nordic states.
A deal for 17,000-18,000 tonnes of green heavy plate, produced via electric-arc furnace (EAF), with cardon emissions content below 1 tonne of CO2 per tonne of steel, was reported from Bulgaria to Denmark in late December.
The premium for such steel was reported to be €150 per tonne.
EUROMETAL submission to the European Commission: Key Updates
On 10 January 2025, EUROMETAL officially submitted its response to the European Commission as part of the ongoing functional review of the EU Safeguard Measures on Steel Imports.
This submission reflects EUROMETAL’s commitment to representing the interests of members and stakeholders in shaping policies that impact the European steel industry.
In response, the European Commission has provided important updates and clarifications on the review process:
Deadline Extension Granted
EUROMETAL raised concerns about the tight deadline for submitting questionnaires, originally set for 10 January 2025, considering the holiday season and its impact on data collection efforts. The European Commission granted a three-day extension, moving the submission deadline to 13 January 2025. This extension, while limited, provides stakeholders additional time to prepare and submit their responses. EUROMETAL encourages all members and steel users to utilize this opportunity to ensure their voices are heard.
Clarification on “Union Users”
In response to EUROMETAL’s request for clarification, the European Commission provided the following definitions:
Union Users: these are companies that use the steel products subject to the safeguard measures in their downstream production processes.
Traders, Service Centres, and Stockholders fall under the category “Interested Parties” due to their objective link with the products under investigation.
The Commission has invited all interested parties, including traders, service centers, and stockholders, to register on TRON.tdi and submit their views in the form of written submissions as outlined in Section 4.3 of the Notice of Initiation.
EUROMETAL continues to advocate for its members and the broader Steel Distribution industry. In our submission, we highlighted several key priorities:
- Extension of the Questionnaire Submission Deadline.
- Harmonization of Customs Rules Across Member States.
- Clarification on the Definition of Union Users and Interested Parties.
- Support for the Proposal to Organize a Steel Summit.
These priorities underline the critical role of steel distribution in safeguarding European manufacturing and ensuring sustainable steel supply chains.