Asian producers are running out of quotas for the import of rolled steel to the EU for 1 quarter

Quotas for the import of steel products to the European Union for the first quarter of 2023, with few exceptions, are still being filled slowly, reports S&P Global. Asian producers of flat and graded rolled products are more active in this process.

With regard to the segment of rolled products, as of February 28, the quota for rebars from Turkiye for the first quarter of 2023 has been filled by only 55%, and the remaining quota – by 63%. Currently, demand for Turkish wire rod is weak in Europe – only 7% of the quota was selected at the end of winter. In this category, Turkish producers could not compete with products from Asia and North Africa. Most of the rebar and wire rod imported under the remaining quota comes to the EU from Algeria.

In the hot-rolled (HRC) and cold-rolled (CRC) segments of the European market, Asian products are also in good demand. So, at the end of February, South Korea used its quotas for HRC by 62%, CRC – by 47%. Half of the remaining quota for hot-rolled coil is also already occupied by mostly Asian suppliers – Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan.

At the same time, India’s quota for importing HRC to the European Union was selected by only 10% at the end of February. The situation is still affected by the 15% export duty imposed by the country’s government in May 2022, which has led to a sharp drop in Indian HRC exports. Although the duty was lifted in November 2022, it is not yet reflected in Indian import statistics.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the United Kingdom has announced the extension from March 1, 2023, of anti-dumping measures against Chinese building rebar (HFP). In July 2022, the TRA recommended lifting anti-dumping duties on Chinese rebar. But in March 2023, the TRA said that new data indicated an overflow of the British market with imported rebar from other countries, filling the gap caused by falling supplies from Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation.