Nineteen steel industry associations across the world called for the governments of steelmaking economies to boost their efforts in tackling persistent global excess steel capacity.
The industry groups claimed that governments should use all available avenues, including the G20 Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity, to:
•Ensure the reduction of excess capacity.
•Eliminate market distorting subsidies and other support measures that contribute to excess capacity.
•Uphold effective trade remedies to ensure a level playing-field driven by market forces.
•Support stronger international rules against subsidies and preferences to state controlled enterprises.
•Enhance transparency and cooperation.
•Create robust mechanisms to facilitate the exit of inefficient firms.
The industry groups commended Ulf Zumkley’s statement expressing concerns about the unexpected growth of new steelmaking facilities in 2019, exacerbating global excess capacity and contributing to trade tensions. Zumkley is chairman of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Steel Committee.
The steel industry groups issuing the call for urgent action include: Steel Manufacturers Association, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), EUROFER (European Steel Association), Canadian Steel Producers Association, CANACERO (the Mexican Steel Association), Alacero (the Latin American Steel Association), Brazil Steel Institute, Turkish Steel Producers Association, Republican Association of Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises, The Japan Iron and Steel Federation, European Steel Tube Association, Korea Iron and Steel Association, Specialty Steel Industry of North America, South African Iron and Steel Institute, The Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute, Association of Enterprises UKRMETALURGPROM (Ukraine), Russian Steel Association, Indian Steel Association, and The Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports.
Published in the December 2019 Edition