Day: 21 March 2025

The EU could start its consultation on the idea of imposing a melt-and-pour clause in the coming months, Xiaoyi Tang, a lawyer at Dentons Europe, told the EUROMETAL Steel Net Forum in Iberia today.

Sources at the event expected melt and pour would likely not come into play during the current safeguard, but from July next year, when the mechanism lapses.

It is likely to only target China, given the country’s overcapacity and large exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) that end up in the EU as cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanised, sources said. While it will be hard to enforce, some said it would be game changing for the amount of cold-rolled and galvanised entering the bloc, putting a big strain on re-rollers and traders’ alike. Smaller traders are already starting to exit the market given the increase in bureaucracy, some participants told Argus on the sidelines of the conference.

Alexander Julius, president of EUROMETAL, told the event he was seeking measures from the European commission on downstream semi-finished and finished goods, as customers of its members are also suffering from rising third-country imports. Julius has attended high-profile meetings with the commission and said they appear promising. Protecting the whole value chain, and not just mills, was important, given Europe’s struggle to compete at present, he said.

Some attendees at the conference bemoaned the tighter measures on certain products as part of the safeguard review, particularly hot-dip galvanised, pre-painted and some long products, such as beams. The imposition of a cap on beams, reducing volumes from key supplier Turkey, would be a large issue, sources said.

Likewise, some were petitioning for a shipping window in relation to the imposition of caps on other countries’ rebar. One trader said there is at least 80,000t waiting to clear from Egypt and Algeria, and the freshly imposed 20pc “other countries” cap from 1 April will mean they can sell around 27,000t each. Many questioned the removal of Indonesia from the safeguard on wire rod, and said it has booked around 100,000t since as a result.

There was some talk at the conference that the legal safeguard text, expected to be published in the Official Journal next week, may contain a provision on developing country status being reviewed more regularly, when imports from exempt suppliers increase. This would mean Indonesia could come back into scope on wire rod, and into scope on hot-rolled coil.

By Colin Richardson

As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €630-660 ($663-694) per tonne on Wednesday, up week on week by €10 per tonne from €620-650 per tonne.

Estimates were reported in the region of €630-660 per tonne, with workable offers heard at €650-660 per tonne. Offers higher than €660 per tonne were not considered workable by the wider market.

Meanwhile, deals were reported at €640 per tonne.

Production stoppages across Northern Europe have resulted in greatly reduced supply, allowing mills to keep prices high despite the persistently low demand, Fastmarkets heard.

According to data collected by the European Commission, more than 50% of primary production capacity in Europe has been idled since 2021.

Most mills in Germany have stopped rebar production altogether since the beginning of the year, Fastmarkets heard.

And EU steel output has been declining since 2017, from 160 million tonnes then to 126 million tonnes in 2023.

Input costs have remained high, with scrap prices in Turkey increasing amid below-optimal scrap flows from the US and improved domestic consumption by local mills, Fastmarkets heard on March 19.

As a result, Turkish scrap prices have increased. Fastmarkets’ calculation of its daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was $375.67 per tonne on Wednesday, up week on week from $366.54 per tonne.

The weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €610-630 per tonne on March 19, stable week on week.

Trades at €630-635 per tonne for wire rod in Northern Europe were reported after the pricing deadline.

Wire rod imports into Northern Europe from Tunisia were reported at €620 per tonne on March 19.

European Commission Metals Action Plan
A European Steel and Metals Action Plan, published by the European Commission on March 19, outlined the major challenges facing the region’s steel industry as well as a strategy which could support that industry in its attempts to remain competitive.

The intention of the plan was to outline sector-specific steps to support the struggling European steel industry, with the main challenges seen to be “high energy costs, exposure to an [unequal] playing field in international competition, decarbonization investment needs, and regulatory burden.”

According to the action plan, the EU’s share of global steel production has come down by 7-8% over the past decade, while countries in Asia and the Middle East having massively expanded their capacities.
Subsidies distorting trade, better access to raw materials and lower energy costs in Asia and the Middle East were among the difficulties faced by Europe.

“As a result, just for steel, in 2024, global overcapacity was estimated to be more than four-and-a-half times the EU’s yearly consumption,” according to a draft version of the action plan seen by Fastmarkets.

Strategies that could support the steel sector, according to the plan, included extending and intensifying trade policies; amending the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to address the problem of carbon leakage for CBAM goods exported from the EU to third countries; and increased access to clean, renewable energy.