European Commission defines steel melt-and-pour rules for importers
The European Commission has clarified the evidentiary requirements for importers surrounding its new steel melt-and-pour rules, according to regulations published in the EU’s Official Journal on Aug. 31.
The rules, applicable across all member states from Oct. 1, 2026, were originally established in the EU’s Steel Regulation and aim to address the “root causes of global overcapacity” through monitoring steel imports and their place of origin — the original place where raw steel or iron is initially produced in liquid form and then cast into its first solid state.
By doing this, the Commission will gain a more accurate overview of the EU’s steel supply chain, allowing it to assess future policy developments within the sector.
The regulation states that a failure to declare the country of melt-and-pour with verifiable evidence would constitute non-compliance with the transparency requirements of the Steel Regulation, ultimately resulting in a rejection of the imported material by customs authorities.
Importers of steel categories covered by the Steel Regulation must provide a Mill Test Certificate that includes both the country of melt-and-pour and the heat number of the steel when available.
Where a Mill Test Certificate is available but does not contain either of these elements, customs authorities may assess complementary evidence such as invoices, delivery notes, quality certificates or contractual clauses, long term supplier declarations, cost accounting or production documents, customs documents from the exporting country, commercial correspondence or production descriptions.
If no Mill Test Certificate can be provided at all, then customs authorities can consider the same types of information as evidence so long as it entails the the melt-and-pour country and heat number during a transitional period from Oct. 1, 2026 to Sept. 30, 2027, after which the Commission may limit the types of admissible evidence. The list will remain under continuous review and may be adjusted at any time. The regulation states that there may be a delay in access to the relevant tariff-rate quotas until the evidence provided by the importer is officially verified.
Since the Steel Regulation entered into force on July. 1, steel prices have risen amid tighter quotas for importers and additional cost pressures from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and anti-dumping duties where relevant. The new import landscape has provided domestic producers with firm support despite weak underlying demand, with market expectations on future price trajectory largely bullish.
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, last assessed domestic hot-rolled coil at €725/mt ex-works Ruhr Aug. 28, and in Southern Europe at €715/mt ex-works Italy, both up €45/mt since July. 1.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Northern Europe at €585/mt CIF Antwerp, unchanged from July. 1, and in Southern Europe at €575/mt CIF S. Europe, down €10/mt over the same period.
Arvedi bids for Italian auto steel joint venture as ArcelorMittal steps back
Largest Italian flat steel producer Arvedi has submitted a binding bid for the ArcelorMittal-CLN joint venture (AMCLN), after the Italian government invoked its so-called golden power rules to impose conditions on ArcelorMittal’s plan to acquire the remainder of its Italian automotive steel joint venture with CLN-Coils Lamiere Nastri, according to two people familiar with the matter.
ArcelorMittal has decided to withdraw from its planned acquisition of the remaining 51% stake, opening the door for domestic rival Acciaieria Arvedi — now Italy’s biggest producer of flat steel products — to take over not only that stake but the whole of AMCLN, the sources said.
The decision unwinds a decade-old partnership between ArcelorMittal and one of Italy’s leading automotive steel distributors, and comes as the Luxembourg-based group remains locked in a separate dispute with Rome over the nationalization of its former Ilva plant, once Italy’s largest flat steel asset.
ArcelorMittal and CLN set up the joint venture, ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia, in 2015, as ArcelorMittal sought to expand its position in southern Europe — a strategy cemented in 2018 with its acquisition of Ilva.
ArcelorMittal had originally agreed to acquire the remaining 51% of the venture it did not already own. The European Commission cleared the wider transaction at the end of April 2026, saying “it was compatible with the internal market.”
Rome, however, used its golden power framework — legislation designed to protect companies deemed strategically important to the national interest — to attach conditions to the takeover, including a requirement for government approval and commitments on company restructuring, the people said.
Faced with those conditions, and against the backdrop of an unresolved standoff with the Italian government over the nationalization of its former Ilva assets, ArcelorMittal opted not to proceed with the acquisition, the people said.
The dispute over Ilva, once Europe’s largest steelworks, has weighed on ArcelorMittal’s broader Italian strategy for several years, amid disagreements with Rome over production levels, environmental remediation and the plant’s ownership structure.
Acciaieria Arvedi declined to comment, and ArcelorMittal did not answer when reached for a comment.
Irepas: Demand remains subdued in global long steel market on geopolitical uncertainties
Global long steel demand has become marginally lower since June due to geopolitical developments affecting the Black Sea region and the Strait of Hormuz, the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association, or Irepas, said in its latest short-term outlook issued Sept. 3.
Disruptions to supply and logistics have been creating upward pressure on prices, the association said.
Irepas noted a combination of relatively weak demand and rising costs and supply-side pressures, which are creating considerable uncertainty and volatility in the international steel market.
From a pricing perspective, the main supportive factors are the prospect of reduced supply pressure from China, disruptions affecting trade in the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, higher energy and production costs, and the increasingly restrictive trade measures being implemented in the US, EU and UK, Irepas said.
The association is expecting prices to remain under upward pressure during the next quarter driven primarily by the supply-side factors rather than by a strong recovery in underlying demand.
“On the demand side, the picture is less encouraging,” Irepas said, drawing attention to no evidence of a broad global demand recovery yet.
Global demand growth is projected to remain sluggish at around 0.9% per year through 2030, with the conflict in the Middle East, rising energy prices and disruptions in supply chains adding further headwinds, according to a recent report by OECD June 4.
“As the gap between steel production and capacity widens, utilisation rates will remain low and may slide from 76% in 2025 to 74% or less in 2028, intensifying financial pressure across the steel industry, OECD Steel Outlook 2026 report said.
The ferrous scrap market, meanwhile, remained weak without much movement towards the upside as steel mills sought to avoid price hikes that would further constrict their margins, Irepas said.
Turkish deepsea import scrap prices remained stable on Sept. 3. Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed Turkish imports of premium heavy melting scrap 1/2 (80:20) at $380/mt CFR on Sept. 3, unchanged day over day.
“Under such circumstances, the current status of the market can be described as very unstable. The market will remain highly sensitive to geopolitical developments, particularly in the Black Sea and the Middle East,” Irepas noted.
Author: Cenk Can
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Commission sets type of evidence to be provided by importers to prove country of ‘melt and pour’
European Commission sets type of evidence to be provided by importers to prove country of ‘melt and pour’ of steel products subject to EU Steel Regulation.
From 1 October 2026, importers of steel products covered by the EU Steel Regulation will need to demonstrate the country where the steel was originally melted and poured.
The implementing act applies from 1 October 2026. From then on, importers must declare on their customs declaration the country in which the steel has been melted and poured, in order to be able to import steel products subject to the Steel Regulation into the EU market. They will need to support the declaration with the following evidence:
- To provide a Mill Test Certificate that includes the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number of the imported steel;
- In case the Mill Test Certificate provided does not give information either on the country of ‘melt and pour’ or the heat number, or if no Mill Test Certificate can be provided at all, the following evidence may be considered by customs authorities as complementary to the Mill Test Certificate or as standalone evidence, provided that it gives information on the country of ‘melt and pour’ and the heat number: invoices, delivery notes, quality certificates and clauses in implemented purchase orders or contracts, long-term declarations from suppliers, cost accounting and production documents, customs documents from the exporting country, commercial correspondence, or production descriptions.
As of 1 October 2027, the listed documents will only be accepted as complementary to the Mill Test Certificate, rather than as standalone documents.
The Commission will continue to work closely with Member States and stakeholders to support the smooth implementation of the new traceability requirements.
Read more: https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu
Thyssenkrupp Hohenlimburg lifts green power intake
Tk Hohenlimburg’s medium wide strip rolling mill intends to lift the share of green power in its energy consumption from currently 40% to 100%, Kallanish learns from an online post by thyssenkrupp Steel.
Two years ago, the unit started sourcing electricity from the wind park of SL Natur Energie, which is also located in the Hohenlimburg district of Hagen. The local connection made the mill the first German industrial manufacturer to have a direct feed from a neighbourhood wind park, the company claims.
SL Natur Energie is a wind power company that predominantly seeks partnerships with local companies and municipalities in North Rhine Westphalia.
It operates 180 wind power plants on 36 sites, with a combined annual power production of 1.2 terawatt hours, which it says avoids the emission of 835,00 tonnes of CO2. Its Hohenlimburg park site started operating in mid-2004, and has a capacity of 55 gigawatt hours/year.
NW European plate market reality defies higher prices
Northwestern European integrated plate mills are seeking to achieve higher prices going forward, although the prospects for realising this in the current market are not certain.
“We are in negotiations for the third quarter, with mills asking for €60/tonne ($70) more quarter-on-quarter,” one market source tells Kallanish. In line with others who have observed higher prices in spot offers in recent weeks, he sees the mill target’s reaching €900/t for S355 delivered. He doubts that it will be achieved in full in the negotiations, “but it will certainly at least be +€30/t”.
Thanks to project contracts, German mills are well utilised, and therefore can afford to ask for higher prices. These mills are licensed for projects by railroad operator Deutsche Bahnfor example, “which are more profitable, but also take longer for certification,” one manager explains.
According to numerous players, German mills are utilised until the end of the year now, and some special grades are not available before the New Year. In addition, a blast furnace repair outage at one mill and impairments of waterway transports have caused longer lead times for high-end plate, the manager says.
Hence, the full price hike by the integrated mills may be achievable for high-end products which are in demand, but not for commodity plate, observers believe.
“Hardly anyone will be willing to pay €900/t,” one manager notes. He warns that “the next two weeks will have to show if the demand is given, otherwise we might see a backlash.”
IREPAS Short Range Outlook : September 2026
Demand still generally subdued in global longs market, all eyes on geopolitical developments
The supply and demand balance in the global long steel products market has become marginally worse for international business since June, although supply has started to react. Global crude steel production moved from an increase of 1.7 percent year on year in June to a decrease of 0.3 percent in July, with China’s crude steel output moving from an increase of 0.4 percent to a decrease of 3.6 percent in these respective months. However, global production in the January-July period was down only 0.6 percent year on year, which does not yet signal a meaningful rebalancing. The market situation in the coming period is extremely difficult to predict, particularly given the geopolitical developments affecting the Black Sea region and the Strait of Hormuz. International trade has become increasingly challenging. Demand remains generally subdued, while disruptions to supply and logistics are creating upward pressure on prices.
Energy costs rise significantly, overall environment increasingly inflationary
At the same time, energy costs have risen significantly. Natural gas prices in Europe and elsewhere remain at very high levels, with electricity prices following the same trend, while coal prices have also moved higher. Consequently, the overall environment has become increasingly inflationary. We, therefore, have an unusual combination of relatively weak demand and rising costs and supply-side pressures, which are creating considerable uncertainty and volatility in the international steel market.
China’s steel bar exports rise further, its real estate investments deteriorate
In the meantime, China’s real estate investments deteriorated from a decrease of 18.0 percent in the first half to a drop of 19.2 percent in the January-July period, with fixed-asset investments and infrastructure investments decreasing by bigger margins of 6.7 percent and 3.6 percent respectively in the January-July period, compared to respective declines of 5.7 percent and 2.4 percent in the first half. Steel exports from China in July remained above 10 million metric tons, with steel bar exports rising by 20.9 percent in July and by 12.3 percent in the January-July period. Together with the tighter EU and UK import quotas from July 1, this means a better balance inside protected markets but more displacement into the remaining open markets. The imbalance is being redistributed rather than resolved.
Higher costs begin to push EU prices upwards
Demand in the EU market remains weak, partly due to the summer season and the continued lack of activity in construction. A sudden increase in consumption is not currently foreseen, particularly as we move into the fourth quarter, which is traditionally a period of slowing activity. Nevertheless, sharply higher energy costs are now pushing mills’ prices upwards. Exceptionally low water levels on Europe’s major rivers have also increased transport costs for both mills and importers. Even in a weak demand environment, producers cannot continue absorbing these additional costs indefinitely. The current upward price movement is therefore mainly cost-driven rather than the result of any significant improvement in consumption.
US remains one of the clearer growth markets, but high interest rates still a major issue
The US is one of the clearer growth markets: domestic steel shipments increased by 5.3 percent in the first half of 2026, while steel demand is forecast to grow by 1.7 percent in the calendar year 2026, supported by infrastructure and technology-related investment. There is a gradual demand recovery in the US as well as strong infrastructure investment and continued AI investments. Meanwhile, imports are down 22 percent year-to-date. Supply in the US long steel market is moderately tight but has been moving toward a balance as of August. High interest rates are still a major issue for residential and commercial construction. However, rising domestic capacity and slowly recovering imports should gradually ease the supply pressure. Overall, the situation is better for US mills, but tougher for international suppliers. The US is going on its own path, at least until the results of the mid-term elections are announced. In the meantime, there are about 20 steel producers in the US announcing outages for September, October and November.
Global prices to remain driven by supply-side factors rather than by demand
From a pricing perspective, the main supportive factors are the prospect of reduced supply pressure from China, disruptions affecting trade in the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, higher energy and production costs, and the increasingly restrictive trade measures being implemented in the US, the EU and the UK. Global production finally saw a slightly negative correction in July, indicating that mills are beginning to respond. In the EU, steel producers are announcing profits. Our expectation is that prices will remain under upward pressure during the next quarter driven primarily by the abovementioned factors rather than by a strong recovery in underlying demand.
Global steel demand foreseen to improve in 2027, but no broad recovery yet
On the demand side, the picture is less encouraging. Nevertheless, there is still meaningful demand in the Americas, while demand in most other regions appears broadly stable rather than deteriorating significantly. Looking at the global situation, India, Southeast Asia, Africa and select US construction segments offer the best opportunities for long steel products. According to market analysts, global steel demand is expected to improve further in 2027, supporting trade volumes and market confidence. These are positives for select markets and margins, but not yet evidence of a broad global demand recovery.
Ferrous scrap market still characterized by weakness
The ferrous scrap market is weak without much movement towards the upside as steel mills seek to avoid price hikes that would further constrict their margins.
Competition at reduced levels amid limited number of viable supply alternatives
Competition in the global long steel market is currently somewhat reduced, mainly because the number of competitive supply sources has become more limited. Trade restrictions, geopolitical disruptions, higher freight and energy costs, and difficulties in accessing certain markets have all reduced the number of viable supply alternatives.
Current market status very unstable, market highly sensitive to geopolitical developments
Under such circumstances, the current status of the market can be described as very unstable. The market will remain highly sensitive to geopolitical developments, particularly in the Black Sea and the Middle East.
