EUROMETAL 75th Anniversary: Political will requires political action
This article is part of a series on steel distribution association EUROMETAL’s 75th Anniversary conference 2-3 July, discussing challenges and opportunities for the sector from its policy background; trade protection; the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism; green steel; and the evolving role of European steel distribution.
Distributors attending European steel distribution association EUROMETAL’s 75th anniversary conference last week identified both challenges and opportunities from the sector’s changing regulatory landscape, with many believing distribution would have to adapt its role in the steel supply chain.
Following the United States’ lead, nations worldwide are continuing to pass protectionist measures for their domestic steel industries, leading many – especially more import- dependent distributors – to question the resilience of their position in regional and global supply chains in a new era of steel market isolationism and regionality.
Distributors have certainly suffered under prevalent uncertainties so far this year. Already in what has commonly been termed a ‘crisis,’ the European steel industry has seen changes to its safeguard and anti-dumping framework; tariff offensives from the US on both steel exports and their dependent markets; an uncompetitive demand and consumption landscape; and of course the upcoming definitive period of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and its role in securing the decarbonisation strategy of domestic industries.
It is no surprise then that many in the distribution segment lament the concurrence of these different factors, pulled by pressures from the top and bottom of the steel supply chain. That said, while conference attendees painted a negative picture of how the European steel industry reached this point of crisis, many speakers at EUROMETAL’s anniversary were optimistic about a recent change in tone from European political authorities. Representatives from steel producers in particular identified new policymaker recognition of the issues plaguing the steel sector, with a desire to support not only steel producers, but also the distributors facilitating the processing and movement of steel to its consuming industries.
Market participants at the event shared insights into ongoing consultations on lead market generation for green steel, namely low-carbon and “Made in Europe”; labels under the Clean Industrial Deal and upcoming Industrial Accelerator Act; simplification and downstream extension proposals surrounding CBAM, and import monitoring and the proposed long-term replacement to the European steel safeguard system.
Attendees at the conference have been consulting with the European Commission (EC) to ensure that new initiatives respect the real dynamics of the steel industry and trade, but while this new protective “political will” was widely cited by relevant parties, a common theme surrounded doubts on policymakers’ powers to execute pragmatic change, stymied by an abundance of overly technical, defeatist, or naïve arguments from the European civil service.
“I see keen policymakers that are repeatedly subjected to negative arguments from their services,” said Dr Henrik Adam, President of Eurofer. “We have the political will – the question now is: do we have the power to exert real change?”
“After three days with Commission staff I am completely brain-busted, many of them cannot understand the realities of our industry,” agreed Marcus Fix of service center DM Stahl.
“Sometimes I get the impression the European Commission wants to ride a white unicorn on a rainbow,” he continued. “They lack any urgency; we need to be fast but instead we’re stuck in regulatory hell.”
Adam admitted a degree of envy for American political dynamism, though was careful to clarify that he was in support of its style rather than content:
“While I am not a fan of the new way the Americans are conducting their business, the effectiveness of its policies on American reindustrialisation is evident”, said Adam. “The sentiment is important, the point is that we often hear a “no”; from Brussels and its services.
“The US has a “can-do” attitude, but in Europe we are often missing this “will to win”.”
Benjamin Steven Journalist, Steel
EUROMETAL’s 75th Anniversary: Tata’s Adam urges reversal of European de-industrialisation
Tata Steel Netherlands Holding BV executive chairman Henrik Adam emphasised the urgent need for Europe to reverse the ongoing trend of de-industrialisation at EUROMETAL’s 75th Anniversary conference in Luxembourg last week, attended by Kallanish.
Advancing technological innovation is critical to sustaining and revitalising the European industrial base. “In Europe we are surviving against global competition from low-cost subsidised countries … We are not asking for protection, we are asking for a fair playing field,” Adams stated.
He highlighted the severity of the European steel crisis, with 26 million tonnes of steel capacity closing between 2008 and 2023, and the loss of 25% of its steel workforce, with an additional 18,000 job cuts announced in 2024.
To remain competitive, Europe must strengthen trade defences against unfair practices, review and update the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), address high energy costs, and improve scrap availability.
Access to abundant fossil-free electricity is essential. Energy demand in the steel sector, which averaged 75 TWh/year between 2010 and 2020, is forecast to more than double to 165 TWh by 2030 and reach 400 TWh by 2050.
Lowering energy costs, increasing green subsidies, and robust trade protection are critical. Without effective measures, de-industrialisation will accelerate, Adams warned. However, he noted a clear political commitment at the European level to preserve the industry.
Global excess steel capacity is both structural and significant. Europe must prevent “CO2 free riding” through resource shuffling and circumvention, safeguard European steel exports, and avoid the relocation of downstream companies. New steel capacities being added in countries like India and China over the next decade could undermine Europe’s climate efforts, Adam concluded.
Natalia Capra France
Tata Steel: Steel is part of the problem, but also part of the solution
In a recent in-depth interview with McKinsey, T. V. Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel, highlighted the steel sector’s dual role in the global decarbonisation journey.
Acknowledging that steel production contributes around 8% of global CO₂ emissions, Narendran emphasized that no green transition is possible without steel, given its centrality in infrastructure, energy, and mobility.
He detailed Tata Steel’s strategic efforts to reduce emissions across geographies—from transitioning to scrap-based steel in the UK, exploring hydrogen solutions in the Netherlands, to piloting breakthrough technologies like EASyMelt in India. He also stressed the need for supportive policies, internal carbon pricing, and a circular supply chain mindset to accelerate sustainable transformation.
Tata Steel UK signs contracts for pickling line
Tata Steel UK has signed contracts with Clecim and ABB Limited to supply the pickling line for its Port Talbot site in Wales, Kallanish learns.
This further progresses its ongoing £1.25 billion ($1.65 billion) transformation of the site, which envisages a 3 million tonnes/year capacity electric arc furnace commissioning by late 2027/early 2028.
As leader of the consortium, global supplier of steel processing lines and rolling mills Clecim, together with global technology company ABB, will supply essential equipment and expertise needed to power the site’s brand new 1.8m t/y pickling line.
The new line will process hot rolled coil to eliminate oxide scale formed during the steel rolling process, ensuring a clean surface for further processing, improving product quality, and enhancing the bonding of coatings or finishes.
Tata Steel chief executive Rajesh Nair says: “Our new and advanced pickle line will form a major part of our green steelmaking facility at Port Talbot, ensuring we can supply downstream businesses with the high-quality, low CO2 steel products our customers are demanding.”
“This collaboration represents another critical step toward securing a sustainable future for steel production in South Wales – made possible by the expertise and innovation provided by these best-in-class business partners,” he adds.
Clecim will design and supply mechanical and process equipment, while ABB will deliver electrification and automation technology required for the cutting-edge pickle line. With the pre-engineering phase of the project completed, both companies are now moving forward with detailed engineering.
Clecim chief executive Thomas Comte comments: “We are proud to help pioneer this project by combining engineering, sourcing, and mechatronic products manufactured in France, to make this phase of Port Talbot’s transformation a reality.”
“This achievement is a testament to the strong partnership we’ve developed with Tata Steel and ABB over the past several months. Together, we are working in an agile and innovative manner to successfully install the new pickle line,” he concludes.
Eurofer: US tariffs threaten European steel and European sovereignty
The imposition of a 25% blanket tariff by the United States’ administration on all steel imports exacerbates an already dire market environment for the European steel industry and poses a genuine threat to its future. The sector expects the European Union to respond with an effective revision of the steel safeguard measures that will mitigate the impact of the U.S. tariffs and ensure the longevity of the industry in the long-term, says the European Steel Association.
“President Trump’s ‘America First’ policy threatens to be a final nail in the coffin of the European steel industry. If European steel disappears, so too does European automotive, European security and defence, energy infrastructure, transportation and others. What is at stake is European sovereignty”, said Dr. Henrik Adam, President of the European Steel Association (Eurofer). “Under the first Trump administration, we already witnessed the huge impact of Section 232. EU steel exports to the U.S. decreased by over 1 million tonnes, while for every three tonnes of steel deflected from the US market because of Section 232, two tonnes arrived in the EU.
Today, the overall market situation for European steel is much worse than in 2018. These new measures imposed by Trump are more extensive, therefore the impact of the U.S. tariffs is likely to be far greater”, continued Dr. Adam.
Firstly, the Trump administration has removed all product exemptions and Tariff Rate Quotas that the EU had previously negotiated. With EU steel exports to the U.S. already having fallen by 1 million tonnes, the EU now stands to lose at least another 1 million tonnes of steel exports to the US. Moreover, the blanket import tariff also now includes ‘derivative’ steel products, reducing export opportunities for a further 1 million tonnes of EU products.
Secondly, with global excess capacity having reached record levels in 2024 and set to increase again in 2025, the EU market – already saturated with cheap steel imports from Asia, North Africa and the Middle East – will be further flooded as steel intended for the US market will be redirected. 18 million tonnes of steel were exported to the U.S. under preferential regimes and are now at risk of deflection towards the EU market. EU steel production, which lost 9 million tonnes of capacity and 18,000 jobs in 2024 alone, is at even greater risk. There is also the prospect that yet more steel will be deflected to the EU market if additional reciprocal tariffs are imposed by the U.S.
“Simply put, while all other countries – today the U.S. – protect their national steel production, the EU has had the most vulnerable market in the world”, said Dr. Adam. “Our producers already face the highest energy prices while having the highest climate ambition. Meanwhile, they are being undercut by cheaper, more carbon intensive foreign imports”, he added.
In view of the existential threat to European steel caused by the spill-over of global overcapacity, foreign subsidies and dumping, now compounded by the new U.S. tariffs, the EU has committed to revising the current EU steel safeguard regime by 1 April.
“It is crucial that the revised steel EU safeguard measures are robust and effective to respond immediately and decisively to counter further deflection of steel imports flooding the EU market. The time has come”, concluded Dr. Adam.
EU industry cautious over rebound, awaits policy rescue
Big European steel industry names have offered a glimmer of hope for the demand outlook in recent days, but tempered expectations for 2025, Kallanish notes. In any case, the industry’s health will depend heavily on anticipated European Commission measures.
ArcelorMittal said it expects higher apparent demand on-year in 2025 amid low inventory levels, especially in Europe. The group’s expectation of restocking throughout 2024 did not materialise, however. Chief executive Aditya Mittal also cautioned that EU measures to support industry will be critical this year. The European Commission is due to publish its Clean Industrial Deal later in February. A specific action plan for the steel industry is also eagerly being awaited.
European steelmakers’ association Eurofer said the Commission initiatives “will determine the future of the EU steel industry”.
ArcelorMittal’s European operations saw sales and Ebitda drop 5% and 18% respectively on-year in 2024 to $29.95 billion and $1.62 billion, despite a 4% rise in steel shipments to 28.66 million tonnes, driven by flat products.
Eurofer said EU apparent steel demand should recover 2.2% in 2025 but only provided the industrial outlook improves and global tensions ease. This is also down from its forecast in October of a 3.8% rebound this year. The firm steadily revised down its 2024 demand growth projection throughout last year.
Economic uncertainty will continue to take its toll in the coming quarters despite monetary easing by the European Central Bank, it added. Energy prices, weak manufacturing and geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on activity.
US Steel, which owns the major flat steelworks in Kosice, said it expects slightly improved results in Europe in the first quarter, but pressure will remain from challenging pricing and demand conditions.
Tata Steel, which owns the IJmuiden and Port Talbot steelworks, pointed out that despite the European Central Bank reducing interest rates significantly, concerns persist about inflation and energy costs in Europe.
Adam Smith Poland
Tata Steel Nederland reports higher production, deliveries
Tata Steel Netherlands has reported a rise in steel production and deliveries in its third fiscal quarter and nine months of the 2025 fiscal year (FY25), Kallanish notes from its provisional results filing.
Liquid steel production for the Netherlands was at 1.76 million tonnes in the third, December quarter (Q3), up quarter-on-quarter from 1.66mt, and year-on-year from 1.19mt. Delivery volumes saw a small increase to 1.53mt, from 1.5mt the previous quarter, and y-o-y from 1.3mt.
Its nine-month production volumes were at 5.12mt, up 54% from 3.32mt for the same period one year earlier, while deliveries rose to 4.5mt from 3.89mt. Tata says the 16% y-o-y increase is primarily due to the higher production.
Tata Steel notes its Netherlands delivery figures include volumes shipped to Tata’s UK operations of 120,000t.
For Tata Steel UK (TSUK), production and delivery volumes were heavily impacted by the closure of steelmaking at Port Talbot on 30 September, reducing Q3 liquid steel output to zero.
“Following closure of the blast furnaces at the end of 2QFY25, TSUK has successfully reconfigured its supply chain to continue servicing customers via downstream processing of purchased substrate,” the firm says in the filing.
Q3 deliveries stood at 560,000t, down q-o-q from 630,000t and y-o-y from 640,000t.
Nine-month production amounted to 1.07mt, down y-o-y from 2.33mt in the same period of FY24, while deliveries were at 1.87mt, slumping from 2.11mt one year previously, which the company says were adversely impacted by subdued demand dynamics.
TSUK is to construct an electric arc furnace as part of its £1.25 billion investment in the Port Talbot site, £500 million ($626m) of which comes from a grant funding agreement with the UK government.
Carrie Bone UK
Tata Steel UK starts decommissioning of equipment at Port Talbot
Tata Steel UK, a subsidiary of India-based steelmaker Tata Steel Limited, has announced that it has started to dismantle its Port Talbot plant, including the converters and supporting structures, in line with the transitioning of the plant to electric arc furnace-based steel production.
Some of the equipment is being renovated for use in the new production process.
The company is also investing in two new ladle metallurgy furnaces to enhance the quality of finished steel. These furnaces will enable the company to meet the most demanding product specifications and customer requirements, ensuring its competitiveness going forward.
In October last year, the company ordered an electric arc furnace (EAF) and other state-of-the art steelmaking equipment from Italy-based Tenova, a Techint Group company specialized in innovative solutions for the metals and mining industries, for the decarbonization of its Port Talbot plant, as SteelOrbis previously reported.
Subdued prices impact Tata Steel UK, Netherlands
The performance of Tata Steel’s UK and Netherlands operations was impacted by weaker steel prices in the fiscal half-year through 30 September, Kallanish learns.
Tata Steel’s UK operations reported revenue of £600 million ($779m) during the second quarter of fiscal 2025, while Ebitda loss stood at £147m. Liquid steel production was 390,000t, while deliveries were at 630,000t.
On a half-year basis, revenue stood at £1,246m and Ebitda loss at £238m.
Tata Steel chief financial officer Koushik Chatterjee says: “Our performance in the UK and Netherlands was adversely impacted by the compression in steel spreads. Further, the UK was also weighed by the transitory nature of operations as the blast furnaces were safely decommissioned and steel stock was built up to operate downstream.”
Port Talbot ceased iron making on 30 September, and has since confirmed it has selected Tenova to supply the EAF for the site.
“We have completed public consultation on the planning application and anticipate commencing large scale site work around July 2025. During our transition to green steel, we will operate our downstream operations by sourcing substrate. This will help us sustain our significant market presence across steel end use segments in the UK,” Chatterjee added.
The group’s chief executive, T V Narendran, notes: “[Q2] also marked the closure of our blast furnaces in UK. We have signed the grant funding agreement with the UK government and are progressing on the proposed transition to green steel. We remain fully committed to supporting affected employees and have offered the best ever package of support in Tata Steel UK.”
The UK government confirmed in September Tata’s £500m in funding for the transformation.
Subdued steel prices also weighed on performance in the Netherlands. Revenue for the segment in Q2 was £1,300m and Ebitda was £22m. Liquid steel production was 1.66 million tonnes and deliveries at 1.5mt, which the company says increased on a year-on-year basis.
For H1, revenue was £2,644m and Ebitda was £65m.
Narendran adds: “We are undertaking pilot projects to avoid or convert captured carbon emissions.” Chatterjee meanwhile confirms: “We are engaged with the government on support for the decarbonisation of our operations.”
Carrie Bone UK
Tata Steel signs contract for new EAF at Port Talbot site
The new EAF, expected to become operational at the end of 2027, will have a capacity for 3 million tonnes per year of steel.
By transitioning to the new EAF technology, the Port Talbot site will be able to produce green steel, Tata Steel said. It will reduce its carbon emissions by 90%, which is equivalent to 5 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the company added.
According to the company, the use of scrap in the new EAF will also reduce the UK’s reliance on imported iron ore.
The new EAF will be funded by a joint investment of Tata Steel and the UK government reaching £1.25 billion ($1.62 billion). Tata Steel will provide £750 million of the whole sum, and the investment of the UK government will be up to £500 million.
The grant from the UK government was approved on September 11.
The new EAF is supposed to replace the two blast furnaces (BFs) at the Port Talbot site, which were operational until recently. The two BFs had a capacity for 5 million tpy, but the company did not use the whole of it and explained that the annual output from the two BFs did not exceed 3 million tpy.
BF5 was closed in July this year, and BF4 was closed in September.
The Port Talbot site produced mainly hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil.
According to the contract with Tenova, the Port Talbot site will also receive new ladle metallurgy furnaces, which will allow the production of more complex grades required by manufacturers in the UK and other countries.
“Today marks an important milestone in making low-CO2 steelmaking a reality in Port Talbot, as well as reducing the UK’s carbon emissions and supporting our customers with their own carbon reduction targets,” T V Narendran, chief executive officer of Tata Steel, said during the signing of the contract.
“Technology like the furnaces made by Tenova is critical to decarbonizing the industry, unlocking its potential to provide skilled jobs and creating economic stability for future generations of steelworkers in South Wales,” Jonathan Reynolds, UK Business and Trade Secretary, said.
UK steel sector will face increased demand for scrap
Tata Steel’s new EAF will recycle 2 million-2.5 million tonnes of UK-sourced scrap every year — equivalent to about 2.5 million cars or 250 Eiffel Towers, the company said.
Using predominantly UK-produced scrap means that the company would need to buy high-quality scrap grades with lower impurities that are suitable for flat steel production.
The UK is a net scrap exporter, but with new EAF-based steelmaking capacities coming online, it could become an importer of certain grades, sources suggested.
Another UK steel producer, British Steel also plans to switch to EAF by 2025.
