German Steel Federation welcomes the EU’s strengthened steel trade defense agreement
Worldsteel welcomes new members and new Director General
The World Steel Association (worldsteel) has announced the admission of several new members, as well as the upcoming appointment of a new Director General.
At its latest Board meeting, worldsteel welcomed the following steel producers as regular members:
- Almaadi Steel (Egypt), represented by Mina Atef HENDY
- Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd. (South Korea), represented by Samyoung CHOI
- Grupo AG (Guatemala), represented by Rodrigo GABRIEL
- Hydnum Steel S.L. (Spain), represented by Eva MANEIRO
- İÇDAŞ Çelik Enerji Tersane ve Ulaşım San (Türkiye), Akgün FILIZ
- Marcegaglia (United Kingdom), represented by David SCAIFE
- Steel Dynamics (United States), represented by Mark MILLET
In addition, K1-MET GmbH (Austria) has joined as an affiliated member.
worldsteel also announced that Henrik Adam will assume the role of Director General from mid-Q4 2026. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Tata Steel Netherlands Holding BV and holds leadership positions within EUROFER and the Steel Institute VDEh.
Dr. Adam brings more than 25 years of experience in the steel and automotive sectors, including senior executive roles at Tata Steel Europe and thyssenkrupp. He will succeed Edwin Basson, who will retire after more than 15 years leading the association.
The World Steel Association represents steel producers, national and regional industry associations, and research institutes, accounting for approximately 85% of global steel production.
New EU steel measure heads for Parliament reading
The European Parliament and Council have reached an agreement on the EU’s proposed new steel trade regime, confirming tariff-free quotas at 18.3 million tonnes/year, an out-of-duty quota of 50% and the “melt & pour” rule implementation. The text will now be considered for formal adoption by the European Parliament and the Council.
The first Parliament reading in plenary is expected on 18 May. The aim remains for the new measure to come into force from 1 July.
The Commission continues to prepare two implementing acts, on country allocation of quotas and the documentary evidence needed to meet the melt & pour requirement, respectively, Kallanish notes.
It is meanwhile also negotiating with trading partners under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article XXVIII proceedings, thus ensuring the World Trade Organisation (WTO) compatibility of the measure.
The new trade regime will apply to imported products from all countries, except for EEA countries – the latter will still be subject to melt & pour requirements.
During the first year of application, unused import quotas will be permitted to be carried over from one quarter to the next for all product categories. From the second year onwards, the Commission will determine whether carry-over should be allowed for specific product categories, based on certain criteria.
Under the compromise reached by the co-legislators, the country where the steel is melted and poured will be used as one of the factors when allocating quotas to third countries. The Commission will have to assess within two years whether to designate the country of melt and pour as the basis for country-specific tariff quota allocations. If necessary, it will present a new legislative proposal.
Within six months of regulation entry into force, the Commission will assess whether the scope should be extended to cover additional steel products, such as pipe and wire. A second review within 12 months will assess whether the scope should extend to products made of or containing a significant amount of steel.
“The steel industry has been at the foundation of our European unity. There is no prosperous Europe without a sustainable, strong and sovereign steel industry. On this strategic sector, like many others, we will do whatever it takes to maintain production, jobs and skills alive in our continent,” says European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné.
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič adds: “The shape and global standing of Europe’s steel sector are fundamental to our strategic autonomy and industrial strength. We therefore cannot afford to turn a blind eye to global overcapacity reaching critical levels. Today’s outcome helps bring much-needed stability for our producers to thrive in Europe – because this is, at its core, about people and jobs.”
Author: Adam Smith
Tata Steel’s Henrik Adam to lead worldsteel
The World Steel Association (worldsteel) has announced that Henrik Adam will succeed Edwin Basson as director general in the fourth quarter, Kallanish reports.
Basson will retire after over 15 years of leading worldsteel, with Adam expected to take the association helm around October. With more than 25 years of leadership in both steel and automotive, Adam is currently the executive chairman of Tata Steel Netherlands, president of Eurofer, and chairman of German steel institute VDEh.
Previously, Adam served as chief executive at Tata Steel Europe, as well as chief of electrical steel at thyssenkrupp.
Tata Steel and Tenaris have meanwhile been recognised as worldsteel’s sustainability champions for the ninth consecutive year since the initiative started in 2018. This year, 14 steelmakers received the title, including ArcelorMittal, Gerdau, Posco and EMSTEEL.
In addition, worldsteel has unveiled new steel producers as its regular members, which together represent roughly 85% of the global steel production. The new members include Egypt’s Almaadi Steel, South Korea’s Dongkuk Steel Mill, Spain’s Hydnum Steel, Turkey’s IÇDAŞ and US producer Steel Dynamics.
Author: Gabriela Farhangi