EU sees more steel HRC imports from Turkey, Ukraine in 2024 as Asian suppliers lose positions

Import volumes of steel hot-rolled coil into the EU decreased slightly in 2024 amid growing numbers of protectionist trade measures, with trade flows reshuffling, industry sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 17.

Some suppliers, however, such as Turkey and Ukraine, managed to benefit from the situation by being the safest choices for HRC imports into the EU, while some Asian suppliers appeared to lose their positions in the European market, according to data from the Global Trade Tracker (GTT).

Hot-rolled coil is used mainly in the automotive industry and the construction sector. Total imports into the EU came to 8.43 million tonnes for the period January-November 2024, GTT data showed, with the statistics for the full year not yet complete.

Compared with the corresponding period of 2023, this represents a decrease of 6.77% from 9.04 million tonnes.

Imported volumes of HRC were 9.24 million tonnes for the full year of 2023, with the peak for the five years 2020-24 seen in 2021, when imports totaled 10.28 million tonnes.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia was among the main suppliers of HRC to the EU, exporting 1.71 million tonnes of HRC in 2020 and 2.24 million tonnes in 2021. These volumes started to decrease after the invasion and were stopped completely after the EU imposed trading sanctions against Russia.

Consequently, Russia’s share of HRC imports into the EU was gradually taken up by other supplier sources, such as India, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Egypt, South Korea and Indonesia, which have been offering competitive prices to the European market.

In 2022, some suppliers managed gradually to increase their deliveries to the bloc, with the difference between domestic HRC prices and imported prices having reached almost €100 ($103) per tonne.

For example, Fastmarkets daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, averaged €907.20 ($933.66) per tonne in June 2022, while the corresponding assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, import, cfr main port Northern Europe, averaged €816.00 ($893.80) per tonne in the same month. The difference was €91.20 ($93.86) per tonne.

This trend continued in 2023, allowing some overseas suppliers to secure a bigger market share. For example, in 2023, HRC deliveries from Vietnam totaled 1.15 million tonnes, almost a threefold increase from 406,045 tonnes in 2022.

This tendency, however, has triggered a series of protectionist measures by the EU to safeguard its domestic steel sector. The European Commission started to impose tougher safeguard measures, launched an anti-dumping investigation into several HRC origins, and announced a new review of safeguards.

Stringent protectionist measures were also sought by the European steel industry.

As a result, in August 2024, the European Commission announced an anti-dumping investigation into HRC originating in Egypt, India, Japan and Vietnam.

Further, the Commission announced a new steel safeguard review in December 2024.

The latest review of the safeguard measures only came into force on July 1, 2024, with the introduced 15% cap per country over the tariff rate quota (TRQ) volume initially available in each quarter, for HRC and steel wire rod in particular.

With the implementation of the 15% cap per country over the TRQ, each nation under the category “other countries” is supposed to supply no more than 555,555 tonnes per year of HRC to the EU. This resulted in rapid exhaustion of some countries’ quotas in 2024, with the same trend now being seen in the first quarter of 2025.

If the total awaiting allocation (see table below) exceeds or even approaches the amount available for use under the TRQ, this should be taken as an indication that the quota will soon be exhausted, according to the European Commission.


Protectionist measures intended to support domestic prices
The year 2024 turned out to be a challenging period for the European steel industry, with low demand from the main steel-consuming sectors inhibiting the market.

In addition, some leading automotive companies in the region admitted that they were planning significant output cuts, which would inevitably affect the HRC market, Fastmarkets understands.

As a result, HRC prices in Europe have dropped to their lowest since 2020. Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe, averaged €549.25 per tonne in October 2024.

During the period 2020-24, lower prices were seen only in 2020, when the Covid-19 crisis brought significant uncertainty to the market.

Despite the slight price improvement in the final two months of 2024, sluggish demand would probably hinder a more significant price rebound in the first months of this year, industry sources told Fastmarkets.

But all protectionist measures were expected to put a further limit on the availability of imported HRC in the EU this year, and in this way support the domestic prices.

Turkey, Ukraine still among safest options
With the EU safeguard measures suppressing the incentives to buy overseas-origin coil, Turkey and Ukraine turned out to be among the safest trading partners from which to buy HRC.

According to GTT, the HRC volumes imported from Turkey into the EU reached 1.21 million tonnes in 2024, a huge increase of 85.40% compared with 2023, when imports from Turkey came to 653,311 tonnes.

But 2023 could not be considered representative for Turkish HRC supplies to the EU, due to the two massive earthquakes in the Middle Eastern country in February of that year, which affected the south of the country. Some of Turkey’s leading flat steel manufacturers are located in this region and they were forced to stop production at the time.

Besides, the region affected by the earthquakes needed reconstruction and, after the Turkish mills resumed operations, they were less focused on exporting to the EU, and more on covering the domestic demand. Turkey even postponed some protectionist measures to facilitate the imports of flat steel products.

The disruption to steel supplies from Turkey as a result of the earthquakes led to more HRC supplies coming into the EU from Asian partners.
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GTT data also showed that, in 2022, exports of Turkey-origin coil to the EU reached 1.20 million tonnes, a volume close to that of 2024. But despite the fluctuations, Turkey has been gradually increasing its HRC supplies to the EU.

Ukraine also increased its exports of HRC to the EU last year, with the total volume reaching 997,985 tonnes. Compared with 722,653 tonnes in 2023, this was an increase by 38.10%.

In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the nation’s HRC exports to the EU amounted to 509.934 tonnes.

India stable, but other Asian partners lose positions
Despite the trade risks and safeguard measures, India remains Asia’s main importer of HRC into the EU, GTT data shows. From January to November 2024, the volumes imported from the nation reached 1.37 million tonnes, up by 16.96% year on year.

Other Asian trading partner nations, however, did not report such results. For example, the amount of HRC imported from Taiwan was 897,031 tonnes for the first 11 months of last year, down by 27.77% compared with the same months of 2023.

A similar trend could be observed for HRC imported from Japan, which totaled 837,169 tonnes for the period from January to December last year, a decline by 23.17% year on year.

The total volume of Vietnamese HRC imported in January-November 2024 was 701,461 tonnes, down by 39.09% compared with the previous year.

Imports of HRC from South Korea to the EU were also down over January to December last year, reaching 575,386 tonnes, a decline by 38.81% compared with 2023.


Russia struggles to find export destinations
With the implementation of the European sanctions against Russia, exporting HRC to Europe became impossible.

In addition to countries and companies rejecting Russian steel exports, the prices achievable in the few countries that were still willing to do business with Russia have continued to fall, industry sources told Fastmarkets.

Russia was also struggling with weak domestic consumption, they added, which put additional pressure on its steel sector.

Published by: Darina Kahramanova
Julia Bolotova in Brussels and Serife Durmus in Bursa contributed to this article.

Metinvest focuses on Finland, Sweden as new markets

Metinvest restructured its exports following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has found new markets with the reopening of seaports, says chief operating officer Oleksandr Myronenko.

“First, we exported through Poland to the north, to the ports of Gdansk, Swinoujscie and others,” he told Ukrainian-based business magazine The Page. “There was also a logistics chain to the south, reaching the Romanian port of Constanta.”

“We primarily export iron ore to China and both iron ore and metal to Europe. Now we are even dealing to markets in northern Europe where we have never exported before – to Finland and a little bit to Sweden,” Myronenko said.

“They [Nordic customers] have posed a challenge as customers there are quite demanding and require very high-quality products. We have thus also started production of new types of products with increased iron content,” he added.

According to him, 2024 has been quite challenging since Metinvest did not anticipate such a drop in prices, which are currently 30-40% lower than forecast.

“In terms of steelmaking, the group managed to keep five blast furnaces operational – three at Zaporizhstal and two at Kametstal – along with the full range of rolled products. These plants have reached approximately 75% of their capacity compared with the pre-invasion situation. Considering the destruction of plants in Mariupol, Metinvest’s steel production now stands at around 35-40% of pre-war levels,” Myronenko noted.

Ukraine’s steelmakers are sustaining these production volumes thanks to the reopening of seaborne exports, Kallanish notes.

“We started the year with rather modest production expectations of around 1 million tonnes/month of iron ore,” Myronenko said. “However, the consistent operation of the ports ensured steady demand from Ukraine’s steelmakers, and by the end of the year we had reached 1.6-1.7m t/m. This represents 40-50% of capacity compared with 2021. Three of the group’s mining and processing plants are currently operating.”

The company was forced to suspend operations at Inghulets Iron Ore due to high tariffs for imported electricity during power outages. Given the specifics of the production chain and high energy costs, maintaining operations became inefficient, Myronenko continued.

“Central Iron Ore and Northern Iron Ore are operating quite well. Southern Iron Ore is severely impacted by power restrictions caused by missile attacks on Ukraine, forcing us to balance consumption,” he said. “We have simply suspended some of the equipment there.”

Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria

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Interpipe focuses on new pipes for EU market

Ukrainian pipemaker Interpipe has produced more than 200 new types of pipe products for European consumers over the past two years, Kallanish notes.

“This is the result of the work of Ukrainian engineers, who are focused on the EU, where there are many niches and unique customer requests,” the company notes. “By expanding our product portfolio, Interpipe has found new customers in areas such as micropiles, fittings, bends and even mobile cranes.”

According to the company, one of the significant challenges was the development of pipes for the production of car axles. “Research work on this project began back in 2023, when 14 pilot projects were completed. Already this year, Interpipe has confidently established itself in a small circle of manufacturers of such products,” it adds.

“Currently, we supply two of the largest European manufacturers with pipes, which after cutting to measured lengths and shot blasting are assembled into axles for trailers and semi-trailers of trucks, and we are also developing the specification for a third client,” Interpipe said.

Interpipe increased crude steel production in the first half of the year to 428,000 tonnes, up 24.4% on-year (see Kallanish passim). Six-month output of pipe rose 23.4% to 258,000t and production of railway products increased 19% to 56,000t, including railway wheels to 42,000t, up by 20%.

In January-June, Interpipe increased sales of pipe products by 35.4% compared to the same period in 2023 to 264,000t. The bulk of pipes were sent to Europe, 112,000t or 37.4% more on-year, while the US took 45% more at 38,000t. Another 45,000t of pipes were shipped to the Ukrainian market, up 2.2% on-year.

Interpipe saw revenue increase in H1 by 3.3% on-year to $535.77 million, while net profit was up 5% to $128.74m (see Kallanish passim). Ebitda grew 26.7% to $130.27m.

Interpipe previously said it was trying to reach pre-war production levels of 70,000 tonnes/month compared to 50,000 t/m of production currently.

Exports account for 80-85% of the company’s production volumes, and for some product groups this figure exceeds 90%. The main markets are the EU, USA and the Middle East.

Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria

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Ukraine issues AD duties on China-origin coated steel

Ukraine has imposed final anti-dumping measures on imported rolled carbon steel with coatings originating from China. The duties are set to take effect on 12 August, Kallanish notes.

The decision followed an investigation initiated by the Ukraine’s Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade in response to a complaint from local producer Modul-Ukraine.

The measures are aimed at addressing the issue of dumped imports from China, protecting Modul-Ukraine and Heavy Metal. The two producers collectively account for over 50% of the nation’s overall production of similar goods.

A definitive anti-dumping duty imposed on China-origin flat rolled products of carbon steel, clad with galvanic or other coating, classified in product subheadings 7210 70, 7210 90 and 7212 40. The duty  has been applied for a period of five years.

The final anti-dumping rates were assigned: Zhejiang Huada New Materials Co, 42.53%; Shandong Hwafone New Materials Co, 30.76%; Shandong Iron & Steel Group Jiangsu Trading Co (for export of goods from Shandong Hwafone New Materials Co), 30.76%; Shandong Huijing Color Steel Co, 48.14%; Ebic Supply Chain Management Co (for export of goods from Shandong Huijing Color Steel Co), 48.14%; Welfull Group Co, 40.53%; Shandong Lantian New Material Technology Co, 41.36%; Shandong Castle International Trade Co (for export of goods from Shandong Lantian New Material Technology Co), 41.36%; Fareast Steel International Limited, 38.70%; Qingdao Honesteel Metal Co, 38.70%; Qingdao Jobofone International Trade Co, 38.70%; Shandong Boxing Huaye Industry and Trade Co, 38.70%. Other producers and exporters of goods originating from China will receive a rate of 48.14%.

Elina Virchenko UAE