EU should stop scrap exports, review safeguards: Pasini

Giuseppe Pasini, president of Italian-headquartered Feralpi Group, believes current market uncertainties call for the EU to cease scrap exports and review safeguard measures.

The executive said in a webinar attended by Kallanish on Tuesday that he remains more concerned over the raw materials supply tightness created by the ongoing war in Ukraine, rather than energy prices. The problems created by disrupted CIS raw material supply need to be addressed by the EU by limiting scrap exports to third countries.

“We are asking with the local steelmakers’ association to block exports of Italian scrap outside of Europe and we believe the same should be done on a European level,” Pasini observed. “We are experiencing a strategic and economic war and we need to preserve our own internal raw materials.”

Looking beyond raw materials, Pasini also raised the possibility of limiting the scope of existing safeguard measures.

“During a difficult moment such as the one we are living through, steelmakers need to understand the needs of the entire supply chain of the steel industry in Europe and understand that a relaxation of safeguard measures could be necessary,” he commented.

Feralpi operates electric arc furnace-based mills in Italy, Germany and France. Pasini confirmed that last week, as energy prices peaked in Italy, all steelmakers were forced to pause, stop or reduce production temporarily.

On Tuesday, the European Commission confirmed a ban on imports into the EU of Russian steel covered by safeguard measures. Safeguard quotas assigned for products from Russia – and Belarus – are set to be reassigned to other third countries. However, authorities have not yet addressed within the safeguard system the limited capability of Ukrainian mills to ship to Europe.

Emanuele Norsa Italy