EUROMETAL highlights steel industry challenges in Davis Index interview
In a recent interview with Davis Index, published on June 23, 2025 in their Metals Global edition, Alexander Julius, President of EUROMETAL, sheds light on the key challenges facing the European steel and metals sector.
As the industry confronts pressures from the green transition, regulatory burdens, and unfair trade practices, EUROMETAL continues to advocate for free and fair trade, robust supply chains, and the strategic role of distributors and service centers in a sustainable industrial future.
From the implementation of CBAM, ETS, and CSRD to innovation, traceability, and geopolitical disruptions, the interview outlines EUROMETAL’s proactive approach to defending the competitiveness and resilience of Europe’s steel value chain.
Read the full interview on Davis Index – Metals Global (23 June 2025)
LESS appoints Carmen Ostwald as secretary general
Brussels-based organisation LESS (Low-Emission Steel Standard) has announced the appointment of Carmen Ostwald as its new secretary general, Kallanish notes.
Ostwald succeeds Martin Theuringer. “At the German Steel Association, we have worked tirelessly with our member companies over the past few years to get the Low Emission Steel Standard off the ground,” Theuringer says. “Carmen Ostwald is exactly the right person for this task, and I wish her every success and all the best.”
In a press release, LESS says that Ostwald has extensive experience in the European steel industry and a strong professional network, without providing details of her professional biography. She previously worked at thyssenkrupp Steel Europe for 17 years, most recently as head of business development of the steelmaker’s low-emission bluemint Steel range.
“I am committed to strengthening the recognition of LESS among steel producers, consumer sectors, and policymakers. Together, we will lay the foundation for lead markets for low-emission steel,” Ostwald says.
Christian Koehl Germany
Industrial Strategy energy changes a ‘game-changer’, says PwC
PwC has welcomed the UK’s newly released Industrial Strategy which will see measures introduced to reduce energy costs for manufacturers, Kallanish learns from a note.
Cara Haffey, manufacturing leader at PwC, says the changes announced are a “game-changer for manufacturers across the country”, noting the extremely high energy costs domestic producers face.
Changes include increasing network charging compensation to 90% and the continuation of the indirect compensation scheme, as well as certain exemptions for energy-intensive businesses such as steel.
In the same note, Vicky Parker, energy, utilities and resources leader at PwC, highlights the announcement as timely, given that “energy will continue to be heavily influenced by geopolitical events and an increasingly complex global economic landscape”.
“By addressing two of the most pressing challenges – high electricity prices and prolonged grid connection waits – this initiative demonstrates a strong commitment to fostering an environment where businesses can have the support to grow and compete internationally,” she notes.
Policymakers will “no doubt be watching ongoing geopolitical events, particularly in relation to oil prices, with the Brent price rising to a five-month high over the weekend, having now stabilised,” Parker adds.
“If prices were to spike considerably, this would raise questions over the overall policy affordability and reignite the ongoing debate as to how to ensure the UK manages its exposure to ongoing volatility in energy costs,” she continues.
Meanwhile, Matt Alabaster, partner at PwC, notes “chronic underinvestment” as the root cause for the country’s “stagnating productivity and sluggish wage growth”, highlighting a £2 trillion investment deficit compared to other G7 countries.
“A long-term industrial strategy, backed by business and delivered consistently by government, is a vital first step. But let’s be clear: the money won’t come from down the back of the UK’s sofa. Government capital spending, while welcome, only scratches the surface – its annual increase covers just 67 days of the levels of investment the UK has lost,” he concludes.
Carrie Bone UK
UK steel safeguards to be further tightened
The UK is to further tighten its steel safeguards beyond those recommended by the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) following a recent decision by Secretary of State, Jonathan Reynolds, Kallanish learns.
It is understood that in a letter to TRA chair Nick Baird, Reynolds noted that in his intended decision, the government is to limit the liberalisation of the existing steel import quotas to 0.1%.
The recommendations were released back in May.
There will also be a cap implemented on residual quotas which will prevent individual countries from dominating the quota. This includes a 15% cap in the residual quota of category 4 (metallic coated sheet) and a 20% cap in the residual quotas of categories 7 (non-alloy and other alloy quarto plates) and 13 (rebar), effective from 1 July.
Additionally, unused quarterly quotas will no longer be made available in the following quarter.
Industry association UK Steel previously made these recommendations after it applied for a review.
UK Steel says the move will be crucial to diminishing the injury that will be caused to domestic steelmakers by steel being redirected away from the US market in light of President Trump’s steel import tariffs.
UK Steel director general Gareth Stace notes: “We now need to back the tightened safeguards up with a comprehensive new trade defence mechanism. This will help to develop the positive business environment our country craves and encourage private investors to enter the sector, ensuring we not only survive but thrive. The new mechanism, to replace the safeguards before they expire, should be introduced in January.”
The association adds that the forthcoming Trade Strategy has the potential to deliver new legislation that will equip government with the tools it needs to defend companies from the subsidised steel that is currently flooding steel markets at unsustainable price levels.
Carrie Bone UK
European HRC prices keep falling
Prices for hot-rolled coil continued to weaken across Europe, pressured by modest demand and competitive import offers.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was €575.71 ($668.20) per tonne on on Tuesday June 24, down by €4.52 per tonne from €580.23 per tonne on Monday June 23.
Sources reported estimates of workable prices largely within the range of €570-590 per tonne ex-works.
A sell-side source said €570 per tonne ex-works was a red line for many mills in the region, and he did not expect much room for further decreases below that level.
However, a trader noted that one key supplier showed readiness to accept €560 per tonne ex-works, though this was not widely confirmed by the time of publication.
The first source also said that buying in the region had been mostly hand-to-mouth over the past six weeks.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €548.33 per tonne on Tuesday, down from €556.00 per tonne ex-works on Monday.
Most recent sales were heard at the level of €550 per tonne ex-works, but a second sell-side source reported €540 per tonne ex-works as minimum workable level.
“Offers do not exist anymore. This type of negotiation almost does not exist at the moment. If you need to sell, you wait for customers’ price idea and then try to raise the price somewhat,” the second sell-side source added.
HRC offers from Indonesia came at €470-480 per tonne ex-works.
Coils from Turkey were available at €530 per tonne CFR duty paid, although some sources said that it is possible to reach €500-510 per tonne duty paid in case of large orders.
ArcelorMittal France decommissions BF No. 1 for modernization
ArcelorMittal France has announced that it has begun modernizing its blast furnace No. 1 at its Fos-sur-Mer plant with an investment of €53 million.
As part of the project, the furnace’s copper protection plates and other key equipment will be replaced to extend its lifespan. Once the furnace in question is commissioned in the first half of 2026 as planned, it will replace the blast furnace No. 2.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal France has participated in a regional public debate organized by the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP). The debate focused on the reindustrialization and energy transition of the Fos-Étang de Berre region and surrounding areas. During the debate, the company discussed its planned decarbonization project at its Fos-sur-Mer plant, under which an EAF would be built to replace a blast furnace in order to reduce emissions from steelmaking by 2030. Feasibility studies estimate the project’s cost at around €750 million. Further studies are required before a final investment decision can be made. ArcelorMittal argued that several conditions are required to successfully carry out this transformation and ensure sustainability, including public support for investments, an evolved European regulatory framework, fair competition in the global steel market, and support for employees.
Spanish car production improves sequentially in May
The Spanish automotive industry posted sequential growth in May but remained weaker compared to the same period last year, Kallanish notes.
“In May, we once again recorded on-year declines in both vehicle production and exports. Several factories are currently undergoing adaptation and line upgrades to accommodate electrified models,” says José López-Tafall, president of Spanish automotive association Anfac. “Meanwhile, key export markets such as France and Germany are also seeing a slowdown.”
López-Tafall also highlighted that production ultimately mirrors market demand. The still limited market share of electric vehicles (EVs) across Europe is constraining manufacturers’ efforts to drive industrial transformation and maintain competitiveness. “If clarity on these two fronts is not achieved soon, we risk falling even further behind non-European competitors in the race for EV industrial leadership,” he warns.
Production in May reached 220,407 units, compared with 193,541 vehicles in the previous month. This volume was down 11.7% from May 2024. Of the total, 61.5% were gasoline and diesel-powered automobiles. Five-month output totalled 1 million units, down 9.7% y-o-y.
Spanish vehicle exports rose sequentially in May to 185,354 units but were down 17% on-year.
European markets had a 94.5% share in Spanish deliveries in May. Five-month exports fell 13.8% to 849,057 vehicles, Anfac data show.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
Salzgitter answers German defence industry’s steel supply call
Salzgitter confirms to Kallanish it is seeking increased steel supply to the growing defence sector, amid calls from German defence manufacturers, including Rheinmetall, for steelmakers to ramp up production of military-grade steel.
“Demand for steel and armour steels is increasing and we are responding to this growing volume by bundling our group-wide activities in the area of safety in a Defence Task Force,” a company spokesperson notes. “Salzgitter is just getting ready for its first deliveries to the defence sector and the company has already set up a special division for this purpose.”
“Geopolitical tensions have set new measures of defence capability, and are creating new demand for security steels and special grades,” the company wrote in an April presentation. “We have a wide scope of steels for security purposes, and we are in talks with a number of suppliers of such components.”
The steelmaker said in March it will further expand its portfolio for defence purposes this year (see Kallanish passim).
Demand for armour steel is growing amid the war in Ukraine and a possible reduction in US military support for Europe, Bloomberg reports. The German defence industry currently relies heavily on Swedish supplier SSAB, which creates risks in the event of disruptions, especially when needs increase. In response, two German companies – Salzgitter and Dillinger Hüttenwerke – have already announced their willingness to cooperate with the defence sector, according to the report.
Dillinger, which has been certified for military supplies since 2021, is in talks with armoured vehicle manufacturers in Germany and Europe, it adds.
Rheinmetall and Dillinger Hüttenwerke did not reply to Kallanish request for comment.
Rheinmetall requires thousands of tonnes of military steel each year – twice as much as two years ago, and the company has already started buying within Germany, although it does not disclose its suppliers, according to the report.
Most military-grade steel producers in Germany are relatively small and vulnerable to periods of weak demand. The Federation of the German Defence Industries therefore stresses that state participation and guarantees are necessary to ensure a stable supply of armour steel for the army.
Earlier, Rheinmetall said it is considering taking over one of Volkswagen’s soon-to-be-unused plants, as the arms maker seeks additional production capacity in Germany while domestic carmakers struggle (see Kallanish passim).
VW’s Osnabrück plant is one of three that will remain unused for the next two years after the automaker decided last December to halve its production capacity in the country due to slowing car sales in Europe.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
UK industry welcomes Industrial Strategy but concerns remain
The UK government’s newly released Industrial Strategy has been welcomed by industry players, but concerns remain over some aspects, including the implementation timeline, Kallanish learns.
Industry association UK Steel says it welcomes the adoption of three recommendations to help tackle industrial electricity prices.
These include the increase of network charging compensation to 90% from 2026, matching what is provided in Germany and France, a move that will save the steel industry £14.5 million/year ($18.5m). This is in addition to the continuation of the indirect compensation scheme, which compensates the steel industry for carbon taxes paid via electricity bills.
Additionally, from 2027, the British industrial competitiveness scheme will provide an exemption for renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the capacity market for less electro-intensive businesses. UK Steel estimates this will reduce power prices for eligible manufacturers by £43/MWh, which the government states would represent up to 25% of manufacturers’ electricity bills.
Despite this, a differential remains to European electricity costs, equating to £36m annually on steel bills due to wholesale electricity costs, driven by the UK’s reliance on natural gas power generation.
UK Steel has proposed the introduction of a two-way Contract-for-Difference to peg wholesale prices to those in France and Germany, eradicating the price disparity.
Gareth Stace, director general at UK Steel, says: “The Government has rightly taken action to reduce industrial electricity prices and modelled its new policies on UK Steel’s solutions. UK power prices have for too long damaged the profitability and growth of the steel industry hand over fist, driving away investment and opportunities decarbonise our production.”
“The Industrial Strategy is a step in the right direction towards competitive electricity prices and a better, more effective business landscape, but we are climbing slowly up the foothills of the mountain we need to climb. This is an important milestone, but we are not out of the trenches yet. The Industrial Strategy must be the first of many changes if we are to fully unlock the potential of the UK steel industry to back the growth and stability of our economy,” he adds.
Meanwhile, workers union Unite has also welcomed the move but says it needs to go further to provide the manufacturing sector with the support it needs, and it also needs to be implemented sooner.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham notes: “UK industry is highly competitive, until you include energy costs which in many industries make it the least competitive. Tackling industrial energy prices is the single most important thing the government can do as part of the industrial strategy.”
“Our energy system is broken beyond repair; it will never function in the interests of business and consumers until it is brought back into public ownership. That must start with the National Grid to ensure industry can get the power it needs when it needs it and is not left waiting forever for new connections,” she adds.
The union also expresses concern over the 2027 implementation, highlighting a “long-term failure to support UK industry”. It proposes that an earlier implementation date would be highly advantageous, along with a clear funding plan.
Carrie Bone UK
ArcelorMittal to sell steelmaking business in Bosnia amid falling production
ArcelorMittal will sell its business operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the national holding company Pavgord Group for an undisclosed amount, the company announced on Friday June 20.
The steelmaker said in a press release on Friday June 20 that it has signed a sale and purchase agreement for its integrated steel plant, ArcelorMittal Zenica, and its iron ore mining business, ArcelorMittal Prijedor.
According to the statement, ArcelorMittal made “considerable investments and efforts” to enhance the two facilities, but ultimately concluded that the sale was “the best solution for the development of the business and its people.”
ArcelorMittal has held operations in Bosnia for 21 years. In 2017, ArcelorMittal invested €12.4 million ($14 million) to upgrade its Zenica steel plant by cutting carbon emissions while also incorporating new technologies aimed at modernizing the plant’s steel production.
According to the company’s latest annual report, ArcelorMittal Zenica produced 500,000 tonnes of crude steel in 2024, down from 600,000 tonnes in the previous year.
The deal, which is subjected to merger control clearance, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025.
ArcelorMittal declined Fastmarkets’ request for comment at the time of publication.
According to the agreement, ArcelorMittal will sell its shares in both facilities to the Pavgord Group, while also transferring all its employers to the new owner.
“We believe the company will continue to be a major contributor to the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” ArcelorMittal’s vice president Sanjay Samaddar said in a statement.
The steelmaker estimates a loss $200 million following the closure of the deal, excluding sale proceeds.
The Luxemburg-based steelmaker has ceased operations in some of its Bosnian facilities before. In 2024, the company closed its coke plant in Zenica, citing rising production costs and lower demand for finished steel.
