SSAB expands Strenx network to Netherlands
SSAB says it is launching its certified fabricator network for its Strenx high-strength structural steel in the Netherlands.
The “Strenx Certified Fabricator” network connects a select group of fabricators with a proven ability to provide original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with components and pre-fabricated structures, Kallanish understands.
These fabricators have demonstrated expertise in working with SSAB’s Strenx performance steel, the Swedish steelmaker explains. It adds it has appointed Dutch company Joop van Zanten to become a member of the network.
Separately, SSAB has selected engineering group Fives to modernise the control system of the reheating furnaces at its Raahe site in Finland. Originally installed by Fives in the 1990s, the two Stein Digit@l Furnaces have undergone several refurbishments to maintain performance and reliability.
Among other features, SSAB will deploy Smart Monitoring, a data-driven platform, which will consolidate operational data. The system will provide real-time performance indicators, enable proactive process and quality monitoring, detect anomalies, and anticipate maintenance needs, thus enhancing both performance and reliability, Fives notes.
Thysenkrupp cuts back on electrical steel production
Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel (tkES) is set to cut back and partially shut down its production in the fiscal year through September 2026, Kallanish hears from parent thyssenkrupp Steel.
Starting mid-December, the plants in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and Isbergues in France will be fully closed down until the end of the year. In addition, the Isbergues site will operate at just 50% of its total capacity for at least four months beginning in January. This is in response to the massively increased inflow of low-priced imports of grain-oriented electrical steel, especially from Asia, the parent states.
The European market for grain-oriented electrical steel is currently under severe pressure, driven by sharply rising import volumes priced well below the average production costs in the EU, tk Steel says. Since 2022, imports have tripled, and rose a further 50% in 2025. These developments have led to a dramatic shift in customer orders and, as a result, to substantial underutilisation of the European production facilities, the company explains.
It notes that the market for grain-oriented electrical steel nevertheless remains attractive, with studies forecasting global demand to treble by 2050.
“Grain-oriented electrical steel is an indispensable element for Europe’s energy infrastructure and the energy transition,” says thyssenkrupp Steel chief executive Marie Jaroni. She stresses the company is firmly committed to maintaining production in Europe. TkES employs approximately 1,200 people at the sites in Gelsenkirchen and Isbergues.
UK government delays Steel Strategy until 2026
The UK government has pushed the publication of the long-awaited Steel Strategy into 2026, Kallanish learns from a written ministerial statement on British Steel.
The statement written by UK industry minister Chris McDonald says: “The government remains committed to supporting the UK steel sector and delivering a steel strategy. A robust position on trade is a critical element of this strategy, underpinning our approach to defending against unfair practices and global over-capacity. We are prioritising developing robust measures in light of the UK steel safeguard expiring during 2026 to protect our domestic sector, making sure there are healthy levels of imports, and engaging with our partners. We will therefore publish the steel strategy in early 2026.”
The UK steel sector sees the strategy as vital for the future of the industry, but it has witnessed a number of delays throughout 2025. During the first few months of the year, the government launched its Steel Council and started holding roundtables as part of its work on the Steel Strategy as well as conducting a consultation. Its publication was expected during spring 2025.
However, it is believed the strategy has seen several revisions following the government’s intervention in British Steel in April, followed by Liberty Speciality Steels (SSUK) entering compulsory liquidation in August.
During topical questions in the House of Commons on 11 December, Andrew Griffith, Conversative MP, asked: “Will the Minister give the sector the Christmas present that it wants and publish the steel strategy?”
He highlighted the 18 months without the strategy, as well as the lack of a trade deal with the US on steel tariffs, and the absence of an agreement with the owners of British Steel.
Chris Bryant, Minister of State for Department for Business and Trade, replied that such a question was “a bit of a cheek” coming from the Conservatives “when they had absolutely no strategy”.
He added: “There will be a steel strategy. The Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade [Chris McDonald] has been having discussions with trade unions and industry, both downstream and the producers, and we will be producing a comprehensive steel strategy very soon.”
Despite the delay, Gareth Stace, director-general of UK Steel, has welcomed the news. “It is right that the Government ensures trade measures and a plan for the sector assets it currently controls are announced for any strategy to work. With these frameworks in place, the strategy can become an effective plan of action, not intention.”
European coil import terms lean towards ddp
The EU’s extra cost burden on steel imports in 2026 may cause a shift in contract commercial terms to reflect the added costs in pricing. Besides the new trade regime anticipated from mid-2026, this would cover some risk associated with Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) charges, which cannot be accurately determined at present.
“Everybody is struggling with confusion at this point; I am concerned, because the first of January is basically around the corner,” one trader says. Exporting mills are aware of this prevailing sentiment among their European customers, and have started to factor in a CBAM accounting charge, which he and other observers see at around €70/tonne ($82).
This brings his offer price from Asian mills to European customers to €580/tonne ($681) ddp for hot rolled coil for delivery in April, he tells Kallanish. According to a Dutch service centre, traders have been offering HRC also from Turkey at €580-600/t ddp, including the CBAM charges.
“If they [exporter mills] want to maintain interest from the Europeans, they need to offer ddp,” the trader says. Players’ views differ on whether ddp, or delivered duty paid, means delivered to the final destination, or the port after customs clearance.
In the latter case, which is more likely, buyers in Belgium and the Netherlands close to the landing ports could find imports still attractive. “We have canal access, so it’s only €10 extra transport for us,” one Dutch buyer says.
The resulting differential between €590/t delivered and the domestic base price of around €620/t ex-works could make a bigger difference when aiming for the higher S355 grade, rather than the standard S235 grade. The latter grade is basically covered by the base price, or levied a minimal surcharge of €5/t, the buyer explains. By contrast, domestic mills may charge up to €30/t more for S355, whereas in the case of import prices, differentiation between the grades remains virtually unconsidered.
EU urged to extend steel protection to steel derivatives
The European Commission is being urged to make a clear commitment to extend its trade restrictions to steel derivatives and start cooperating with downstream industries, steel companies, processors and associations including Eurofer, ArcelorMittal, Thyssenkrupp, Malvestiti Group, Trancerie Emiliane and others state in a joint note obtained by Kallanish.
The joint call aims at ensuring protection for strategically important electrical steel derivatives such as transformer laminations and stator/rotor cores for generators and electric motors. Also in focus are key electrical steel intensive components such as generators, transformers and motors used in renewables, power distribution and e-mobility.
These products are not currently covered by trade instruments, leaving a gap in the protection of the full value chain. Stakeholders say the Commission’s work should result in an initial legislative proposal within six months of the steel measures entering into force.
Europe’s steel and electrical steel value chain is facing a critical moment as deindustrialisation accelerates and global overcapacity depresses prices. Rising imports, from coils to laminations, rotor and stator cores, and transformer parts, are hitting utilisation rates and margins across the sector, the organisations point out.
Against this backdrop, the European Commission’s 7 October trade regime proposal is seen as a necessary intervention to restore fair competition. Companies in the steel chain are urging adoption by early 2026 so measures can take effect on 1 April “to stabilise the market and restore fair competition”.
While the proposal addresses distortions affecting 28 steel product categories, pressure is spreading fast to steel derivatives and downstream components used in energy-transition technologies and electric motors.
“Steel product protection alone is not sufficient. It could unintentionally expose downstream industries to intensified unfair competition and circumvention practices with the consequence of hollowing out the very industrial value chain it seeks to preserve. That is why we strongly support a coordinated two-step approach to strengthen Europe’s entire industrial ecosystem,” the note concludes.
Due to its high level of complexity, however, trade law experts anticipate the new trade regime is unlikely to be implemented before July 2026.
Event Insights: EUROMETAL Steel Trade Day
In the first week of December, McCloskey attended and was one of the sponsors of the EUROMETAL Steel Trade Day, held in Dusseldorf, Germany.
As probably the last conference of the calendar year for members of the steel supply chain in the EU, this event has become an opportunity to take stock of the outgoing year and discuss trends that will shape the next year.
Unsurprisingly, this year’s event was dominated by the topic of structural changes to steel trade in Europe, namely by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the trade of steel-containing goods.
The mood was far from festive, with presenters vividly describing the current state of the European market as an “existential crisis” and an “industrial death spiral”. The industry is largely seeking answers to this grave situation from legislators, asking for an expansion of trade protection barriers and measures to stimulate demand for low-emission steel.
Steel-containing goods trade: “the hidden threat driving Europe’s deindustrialisation”
Alexander Julius, president of EUROMETAL, raised this issue in his welcome speech, and the topic was addressed in three separate presentations. The steel industry’s view is that to guarantee a level playing field, EU trade protection measures must also cover steel derivatives – goods containing steel, such as prefabricated steel structures, appliances and machinery.
European manufacturers saw a decline in export sales partly because of competition from lower-cost suppliers such as China, India or Turkey, and also recently due to sanctions on trade with Russia and tariffs in the US, hitting demand for steel. At the same time, EU’s imports of steel-containing goods have surged, with China being the prime supplier. The solution, according to the event presenters, lies in extending trade protection barriers to final goods, but also in addressing the issues pushing up manufacturing costs in Europe, such as high energy prices and regulatory burden.
Steel trade: new era amid a “never seen level of uncertainty”
In his presentation, Yuriy Rudyuk, a partner at the legal firm Van Bael & Bellis, gave a run-through of some of the issues that the new regulation replacing safeguards will face.
One of the biggest questions is how European authorities will address inconsistencies arising from imposing quotas and tariffs on countries with whom the EU has free trade agreements and on what legal basis these new restrictions will be granted. The legislation also needs to pass through the European Parliament and be approved by the member states, meaning there are bound to be amendments and additions to the initial draft measures. After that, there will be the WTO consultation process, where WTO members will be able to claim compensation for lost trade access or impose retaliatory measures on the EU. One of the potential solutions discussed was the EU forming a coalition with like-minded trade partners to address issues of steel overcapacity.
And, of course, steel importers face a concurrent challenge emanating from CBAM introduction. On a question of whether the industry is ready for CBAM just three weeks before it comes into force, Gabriel Rozenberg, CEO of consultancy CBAMBOO, gave a firm “no”.
The fact that the market had to operate based on leaked documents has already led to contractual uncertainty and confusion over costs. Even if all CBAM-related documents are published by January 1, the complicated setup of CBAM means that important questions will remain unanswered for at least another year. For example, as McCloskey reported in November, emission levels at all installation will need to be verified by a physical site visit during 2026, and there are doubts that this is feasible.
Tayfun İşeri, representing Turkish industry association YISAD, commented that Turkish companies are unlikely to export to Europe during Q1 2026 until there is more clarity on the regulatory issues. They will try to find alternative outlets elsewhere, but that will not be easy, given the 50% duties in the US and high levels of competition in markets where trade barriers remain low.
Market participants also pointed out that current levels of risks meant that banks and insurance companies became very cautious, creating a liquidity crunch that will hurt smaller independent traders and distributors to a larger extent.
Outlook: “visibility is not there, it’s deep fog”
Closing the event, McCloskey’s Benjamin Steven moderated the final panel, asking where the European steel trading and distribution community sees the industry in five years’ time. The most damning verdict of the state of the industry was that none of the panellists was able to give an answer to this question. Panellists stated that the next 12 to 18 months will be crucial for the industry, and only then the market will be able to judge how it can move forward.
