EU policy boosts thyssenkrupp in Jindal talks: Lopez Borrego
The increasingly supportive EU policy environment is improving steelmakers’ valuations and playing into the hands of thyssenkrupp during its negotiations to sell a stake in its Steel Europe business to India’s Jindal Group, says thyssenkrupp group chief executive Miguel Lopez.
CBAM came fully into force from 1 January, while the new EU steel trade regime to replace existing safeguards is anticipated to begin from 1 July.
“The sentiment has turned into a positive one for the last four months. We have seen increases in [EU stock market listed steel companies’] share prices of around 50% and more. So there is a clear positive sentiment,” Lopez said during thyssenkrupp’s earnings call on Thursday monitored by Kallanish.
“It is also clear that this is due to the tariff situation, as mentioned before, and the limitation also of the import quota for Europe. And of course, the idea of resilience – and I’ve been reporting, you remember about the steel summit with [German] Chancellor [Friedrich] Merz and also talks that we had directly with [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen and her team. So yes, there is a clear positive sentiment here. And of course, that will have, for sure, to get into an input for the conversations with our colleagues from Jindal, no doubt about that,” he added.
The German industrial conglomerate remains in “intense” due diligence discussions with Jindal, he said. Its aim remains to sell a majority stake to the Indian group.
CBAM and the new trade regime have not had a tangible impact so far but do present an upside potential.
“It is expected that we will see improved pricing after the tariffs will be introduced in Europe,” Lopez said. “And also the CBAM – concrete CBAM actions will, I believe, also help. We will not see anything this fiscal year around it because we expect the European Union to decide on the tariffs around May, June. And until then everything is really getting into the orders; we will see an impact for sure next fiscal year. But the likelihood that we see this fiscal year some positive effects already in our view is, for the time being, very limited.”
Work on the Duisburg direct reduced iron plant continues to move ahead “with full commitment”, he noted. Formwork and reinforcement operations and major concreting work have been completed for the tower of the DRI plant and the two smelters, as have extensive construction measures for the plant’s technical infrastructure.
Czech industries call for ETS, climate targets revision
Czech energy-intensive industries, including steelmakers, have issued another call for policy measures to ensure their survival. These include limiting CO2 emissions certificate price volatility and speculation, reinvesting ETS revenues in decarbonisation and revising climate targets to account for competitiveness, Kallanish notes.
In a joint declaration signed by the Czech and Slovak steel association, Steel Union, industry representatives say a review of ETS and the Market Stability Reserve should be carried out in 2026 to “limit excessive price volatility of allowances and at the same time reduce the scope for purely speculative behaviour on the market”, they note.
The associations are aiming for “more predictable price developments that will continue to create a clear investment incentive for decarbonisation, but at the same time will not cause sudden cost shocks in energy-intensive industries and will not weaken their ability to plan production, modernise operations, and enter into long-term contracts,” they continue.
There should meanwhile be a revision of the ambitious climate targets for 2040 and 2050 “based on an evaluation of progress towards the 2030 target and the real impact of the existing rules on competitiveness, employment, and investment,” they note. “The proposed emission reduction target must be assessed with full knowledge of the impact on industry and infrastructure and must be aligned with the decarbonisation targets of other global players, i.e., China, the US, and India.”
The parties also call for Czech energy prices for industry to be brought below the EU average. Costs for network development and integration of renewable sources should be shared so that there are no sudden price increases. In justifiable cases, part of the system costs can be temporarily covered from public budgets.
“For the most affected sectors, we should introduce temporary, strictly targeted relief or compensation where there is a risk of production cuts and job losses. We should advocate for the creation of a single EU energy market,” they add.
Daniel Tamchyna, president of the Czech Chemical Industry Association, another declaration signatory, says electricity and gas prices should be reduced to €50/MWh and €20/MWh respectively. ETS certificates should then cost no more than €30/tonne.
Moravia Steel chairman Petr Popelar meanwhile said in a social media post that ETS should be revised to reduce the phase out of free allowances and prevent speculators from manipulating prices. EU energy policy must be unified and not left to individual member states as this creates unequal market conditions, he added.
The declaration was made earlier this week before Wednesday’s Antwerp European Industry Summit. On Thursday, EU leaders will meet at Alden Biesen to discuss industrial policy.
EU prioritises ETS decarbonisation re-investment, cross-border energy flow
EU countries need to invest more Emissions Trading System (ETS) revenue into supporting industrial decarbonisation investments, says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission meanwhile aims to resolve grid bottlenecks to allow clean energy to flow freely to demand areas, and to help facilitate reduced national taxes on energy.
At EU level, 100% of ETS revenues are re-invested in industrial innovation. The €100 billion ($119bn) Industrial Decarbonisation Bank is an example of that, with the first pilot auction worth €1 billion to be concluded next week. “It will finance the decarbonisation of how you fire furnaces, melt metals or mix chemicals,” Von der Leyen said during Wednesday’s Antwerp European Industry Summit.
However, member states invest less than 5% of ETS revenues in industrial decarbonisation, Kallanish notes. The Commission President said she plans to raise the topic during Thursday’s Alden Biesen summit with EU leaders.
“Channelling more ETS revenues back to industry will therefore be a core focus of the upcoming reform of the Emissions Trading System this summer. Because these resources come from the industry and they must be reinvested in the industry itself, where the money comes from,” she noted.
Energy price spikes in one country should be avoided by allowing cheaper energy to flow across borders, something the European Grids Package announced in December aims to achieve. This involves fast-tracking the construction of so-called Energy Highways across Europe. As an example, the Bornholm Energy Island will connect offshore wind from the Baltic Sea to the Danish and German national grids, transforming Baltic wind into “shared European power”, von der Leyen noted.
“We will tackle all these bottlenecks – one by one. The goal is simple. Clean energy must flow freely all across our Union so that cheap energy can flow where it is needed, when it is needed,” she added.
Besides reducing national taxes on energy to bring down prices, power-purchase agreements and contracts for difference should be rolled out across all members states to lock in energy prices for the long term, she continued.
Von der Leyen also mentioned the Industrial Accelerator Act, which will be presented later in February. This will introduce specific EU content requirements for strategic sectors, including low-carbon requirements in public procurement. “And of course, this will be based on rigorous economic analysis. But it will create a stable demand for industries, and it will kick off a virtuous cycle of growth,” she concluded.
Eurofer said on Wednesday that EU policymakers must restore electricity prices closer to pre-energy crisis levels while implementing reforms to stabilise markets (see separate story).
UK steel quotas should be halved, says Tata
The UK’s steel safeguard quotas should be halved to protect the domestic industry from becoming a “dumping ground” for global overcapacity, warns Russell Codling, commercial director at Tata Steel UK.
The comments were made during a Business and Trade Committee hearing this week, monitored by Kallanish.
“We need half the quotas that are in position as they stand at the moment. [The UK] need to take similar levels of sweeping action in the way in which the EU and the US is choosing to take. Otherwise, we’re just left exposed as the dumping ground of the world for the excess amount of steel,” he said.
He highlighted China’s record level of exports in 2025, reported at 119 million tonnes for finished steel.
Codling highlighted how the US administration has “taken action” against imports with its 50% tariff on all countries, other than the UK, a move he said he understood. “The US recognises the steel industry to be a critical strategic industry for the country, and they’ve decided they need to take protections against imports and the oversupply globally,” he added.
He highlighted other countries are now also taking measures, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa. The EU has meanwhile proposed to reduce its import quota volumes and apply a 50% out-of-quota tariff rate from 1 July.
“The safeguard position expires at the end of June this year, exposing the UK steel industry to the full force of that global oversupply around the world,” Codling noted. He added that the safeguards as “ineffective in their own right” and were designed “around a period when the steel markets were substantively larger than they are today”.
“The UK government has two months in which to save the UK steel industry, because this is a death toll for the industry at large and all of its supply chains,” Codling warned.
He said the UK is “still processing” while others have acted, which risks “over-analysing, over-assessing, and ending up with something that either doesn’t deliver against the goal of protecting … the last bite of that industry, because there’s not a steel company in the UK that’s really making any form of a profit. They’re all just about teetering on the edge and just about being able to maintain their position. That isn’t going to last much longer.”
Without the reduced safeguard quota volumes, there will be no domestic industry left to meet UK steel demand. “Otherwise, we will have to be looking at how we respond in our own cost base, which will impact on communities, our downstream assets across the country,” he warned.
Tata Steel said last week its UK losses will continue until the government revises its safeguards or steel prices increase.
Voestalpine plans plant in India, eyes further acquisitions
Voestalpine is planning to establish a production site for tubes and sections in Inda, its executives have said during a virtual press conference for its third quarter results.
They highlighted India as one of three focus fields of activity, along with its Railway Systems and Warehouse and Rack Solutions businesses. The Austrian group so far operates five plants in India, with 1,000 employees and a revenue of around €190 million ($225m). It has no timetable for the new plant yet, nor did it give a planned location.
“We are looking for a building of 15-16,000 metres squared,” ceo Herbert Eibensteiner said at the conference. “We will start with three machines, and then gradually build up over five years, as we did in the USA or Brazil,” he told Kallanish. He noted that the plant will produce special tubes and section, but no commodity grades.
Eibensteiner also announced the potential for additional acquisitions in the Railway Systems and Warehouse and Rack Solutions segments. He did not name targets but said that “we have a long list and a short list,” suggesting that acquisition could happen shortly.
In Q3 its revenue fell by 5.1% year-on-year to €11.1 billion, due to the extensive reorganisation measures. Most impacted by this is the group’s plant in Kindberg, Austria, partly due to lower business opportunities since the USA introduced its safeguard measures.
According to cfo Gerald Mayer, voestalpine loses a two-digit million amount from the US measures, partly due to duties, but also due to lost business. Eibensteiner added that this also impacts its operations in Brazil, where measures are under way.
The profit from operations (EBIT) rose by 20.9% year-on-year to €473m, while after-tax profit increased by 25.1% to €259m. For the full year, the group confirmed that it continues to expect Ebitda in the range of €1.4-1.55 billion for the 2025/26 fiscal year.
EU steelmakers reiterate existential threat without energy relief
Power costs remain one of the biggest barriers to investment and decarbonisation in Europe. Policymakers must restore electricity prices closer to pre-energy crisis levels while implementing reforms to stabilise markets, the European Steel Association (Eurofer) has reiterated.
Persistently high electricity prices are undermining investment and threatening the continent’s industrial competitiveness, assert European steelmaker representatives. They are bringing the issue back to the top of the agenda as EU leaders prepare to meet on Thursday at an informal retreat in Alden Biesen to address Europe’s economic resilience, Kallanish notes.
Without rapid relief, steelmakers caution that investments in low-emission steel production risk shifting outside Europe, potentially leading to permanent capacity losses across the bloc.
The so-called Antwerp appeal, endorsed by major European industries ahead of the summit, urges EU leaders to move from strategy to delivery through emergency industrial policy measures in 2026. They argue that high energy and carbon costs, fragmented markets and rising global competition are accelerating site closures and job losses across Europe.
Industry groups stress that Europe is increasingly seen as an uncompetitive destination for long-term industrial capital, while competitors in the US and China deploy assertive industrial policies.
The Alden Biesen retreat will see EU leaders discuss strengthening the Single Market and reducing strategic dependencies, themes closely linked to maintaining domestic steel capacity, which remains essential for Europe’s manufacturing and construction supply chains.
Steelmakers say the sector is not seeking protection from change, but the conditions needed to lead Europe’s green and industrial transition. The meeting is therefore viewed as a test of whether EU leaders can deliver rapid, tangible support to stabilise Europe’s steel industry before further production shifts abroad.
Wednesday saw the Antwerp European Industry Summit take place, at which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for ETS revenue reinvestment into industrial decarbonisation, as well as resolving pan-EU energy grid bottlenecks (see separate story).
Acciaierie d’Italia plans ramp-up in steel output to 4 million tpy amid government-led restructuring
AdI (formerly ILVA) plans to restart blast furnace (BF) No2 during the course of the next few days, the release reads.
At the same time, on February 28, the company will start planned maintenance at BF No4, scheduled to last about 60 days. Also, within the same time frame, the company will restart coke batteries 7,8 and 12, which have being temporarily shut down for maintenance recently.
Restart of BF No2 (installed capacity of 2 million tpy of pig iron) and following restart of BF No4 (installed capacity of 2.3 million tpy of pig iron) will allow AdI to ramp up steel output to around 4 million tpy, the company said.
AdI is the largest steelmaker in Italy, with installed capacity for 8 million tpy of pig iron and 10 million tpy of crude steel. But the steelworks managed to produce just 3 million tonnes of steel in 2023, below the target of 4 million tonnes. In 2024, the company produced less than 2 million tonnes of steel, market sources said. The company had equipment to produce hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, galvanized coil, plate and tubes.
As for the other BFs, industry sources said that BF No3 was completely out of operation, while BF No 5 — the largest one, with capacity for 3.7 million tpy — would require significant investment and effort in a revamp.
As of February 2026, BF No1 remains under judicial seizure and cannot be operated, after being shut down following a fire in May, which led a judge at the Court of Taranto to order a more in-depth investigation. On Thursday February 12, the Court of Taranto dismissed the application to release BF No1 from seizure, local media reported.
The Italian government took over the administration of AdI in February 2024, removing ArcelorMittal from operational management, Fastmarkets reported.
“Since February 2024, over €997 million ($1.19 billion) has been allocated to maintenance activities and industrial investments, confirming the Extraordinary Administration’s commitment to ensuring the full functionality of the facilities,” the release reads.
ADI was officially put up for sale by the Italian government in August 2024.
The sale process is unfolding against the backdrop of a long-running dispute between ArcelorMittal and the Italian state over the management and alleged expropriation of the former Ilva assets.
Earlier this week, the European Commission approved a €390 million rescue loan for the Italian steelmaker.
The measure was aimed “to ensure that AdI can cover its operating costs until the business is transferred to a new operator that will be selected in tender procedure that is currently ongoing,” the Commission said.
Author: Julia Bolotova
New leaked IIA draft softens ‘Made in EU’ rules, opens door to import steel in public procurement
The latest leaked draft of the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act (IIA) introduces a significant shift in its “Made in EU” procurement rules, allowing selected third countries to be treated as equivalent to EU producers in public purchasing for strategic industrial goods – including steel, Fastmarkets learned on Thursday February 12.
The change will mark a notable softening of earlier proposals outlined in the first IIA leaked draft and was widely seen as reflecting concerns among some EU member states about excessively rigid Union-origin requirements that could disrupt supply chains and create trade tensions.
The revised text retains the definition of “Union origin” as covering EU and European Economic Aewa (EEA) production but adds a mechanism allowing the European Commission to designate specific third countries as equivalent through delegated acts.
To qualify, countries must demonstrate reciprocal international commitments with the EU and contribute to the Union’s competitiveness, resilience and economic security objectives, according to the draft document seen by Fastmarkets.
The Commission would also be able to revoke this status in the event of serious breaches.
The provision applies to energy-intensive industrial products and net-zero manufacturing technologies listed in Annex II, which has yet to be published but was expected to include steel.
The addition of third-country equivalence underscores the major change, which is that the IIA is no longer framed purely as a “Made in EU” decarbonization tool, Fastmarkets understands.
The IIA draft was still subject to change ahead of being formally adopted, with a final version expected to be published on February 25.
Implications for steel market
The earlier draft leaned toward mandatory combinations of Union-origin and low-carbon production requirements in public procurement and state aid plans, effectively favoring domestically produced low-emissions steel.
The new draft was less prescriptive, allowing member states to apply either Union-origin criteria, or low-carbon criteria, or both.
For steel, this reduces the risk of a rigid “double requirement” system that industry sources had warned could disrupt supply.
“South Korean or Japanese plate is used for wind industry projects in the EUt,” a buyer source in the EU said. “Both countries can supply steel produced with reduced carbon emissions content, so this ‘third country’ addition is an important amendment.”
According to sources familiar with the matter, Germany had pushed back against strict origin rules, citing the integration of EU steelmaking with global raw materials and automotive supply chains. The trusted partner mechanism appeared to reflect that pressure.
At the same time, the draft maintained plans for a carbon intensity label for steel, intended to differentiate low-carbon production – a key objective for EU mills investing in electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) and hydrogen-based direct-reduced iron (DRI) modules.
The practical effect will depend on the still-unpublished annexes defining which steel products will be covered, the origin thresholds and the carbon emissions intensity methodology, Fastmarkets understands.
Steel industry stakeholders agreed that IIA had the potential to “unlock” green steel demand through public procurement.
The shortage of public infrastructure projects in Europe that are capable of mandating green steel procurement has been deemed a significant obstacle to stimulating demand for low-carbon steel, Fastmarkets heard.
“If authorities do not push for green steel use through public procurement, then [green steel] will remain a niche market,” a mill source said.
“The effect of energy prices and also the cost of steel within the green transformation [are among] the key issues,” the distributor source said. “The distribution of green steel will be working… if we make green steel, put a label on it and make it part of public procurement.”
Reflecting the muted trading environment, Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the green steel, domestic, flat-rolled, differential to HRC index, exw Northern Europe, remained at €100-150 *$119-178) per tonne on February 12.
French steel prices hold, buyers resisting further increases
French longs transaction prices are largely stable compared with early February, while asking prices for coil derivative products continue to edge higher, Kallanish notes.
Sheet and tube producers are again attempting to raise prices, due to higher hot rolled coil costs. However, customers are pushing back and refusing the latest offers. Several buyers say activity levels remain challenging, with margins under pressure.
For February delivery, sheet re-rollers and tube producers are seeking further increases of around €30-40/tonne ($35.35-47.38/t). Buyers complain that prices are already “too high” and say they are unable to pass additional increases downstream. If implemented, hot rolled sheet prices would rise to around €770-780/t delivered. One buyer says he will purchase only minimum volumes.
A purchasing group adds that many companies lack the financial capacity to buy at higher price levels. According to several market participants, 2025 was a difficult year for buyers, with banks reducing credit insurance and more closely monitoring their financial performance. Margins for downstream sheets and tubes remain particularly low.
In the longs segment, prices are largely stable week-on-week, although section producers are seeking further increases of around €20-30/t this month, which buyers have yet to accept. Market participants tell Kallanish they intend to negotiate more limited rises.
First-category section prices are currently holding at around €740/t delivered, while merchant bar is flat on-week at around €230/t. Rebar prices are also unchanged compared to the beginning of February at approximately €600-610/t delivered.
The recent wave of price increase announcements for long products across Europe is translating into modest gains so far. While demand is present, activity over the past two weeks has been sluggish. Several mill sources say they expect prices to continue rising gradually due to rising production costs.
Last week some producers in northern Europe confirm they temporarily halted sales in order to assess the impact of recent rises in energy and raw material costs before issuing new price lists (see Kallanish passim).
European prices to rise despite demand conditions: Tata
Steel prices in Europe are set to rise on increased regulation, despite weaker demand conditions, according to Tata Steel.
The evolving tariff framework and CBAM in Europe are “pivotal for rebalancing EU market dynamics”, chief executive T V Narendran said in the firm’s earnings release last week.
During the earnings call monitored by Kallanish he noted that sentiment in the EU is improving, supported by the CBAM rollout and expected safeguard revision from June.
Koushik Chatterjee, executive director and chief financial officer, said: “The effectiveness and timing of the CBAM effect and the trade-related quotas will determine how quickly the imports retreat from the EU market and the utilisation of the local steel industry increases, which will have positive implications on the price regime.”
He added: “Irrespective of the demand condition, there will be an uptick in prices because, arithmetically, it has to work in that manner. And then comes the steel action plan. So there are two very fundamental regulatory triggers in the EU, which will push up the prices.”
There is a CBAM markup of 10% in 2026 and 20% in 2027. “Until the verification happens, the markup keeps increasing. So, technically, the prices should increase,” he noted.
There is an expectation that EU prices will move away from Asian prices and closer towards US prices, Narendran added. The executives expect a gradual increase of around €100/tonne ($119/t) over the full year rather than a jump.
“It will happen at least in two stages. One is CBAM now, and secondly is when the tariff comes in post-June 2026,” Chatterjee suggested.
For its Netherlands operations, Tata expects an Ebitda expansion, with an additional 400,000 tonnes on-quarter to be sold in the March quarter. The IJmuiden plant is well positioned to take advantage of the higher prices, Narendran added.
Tata is also calling for changes to safeguards in the UK, where its operations continue to make a loss.
“Given the actions being taken in the US, in Europe, in India, and elsewhere, we expect the UK government also to be taking these actions,” Narendran said. “Once it happens, hopefully, we are on track to make sure that the UK is on positive Ebitda territory.”
Chatterjee expects a UK price increase of around £100/t ($137/t) plus if the quotas are similar to the EU’s, which will “significantly” help profitability.
“It is also important for the UK to do that in the context of the fact that the EU has come out with the quotas and with their steel action plan and, therefore, there is a need to harmonise it,” he added.