According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2012-2013/Q1 2012 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), in the second half of 2011 EU steel imports gradually decreased.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, EU steel imports dropped by 2.5 percent year on year and 19 percent compared to the previous quarter. In 2011, EU steel imports increased by 27 percent, while the share of imports in the EU steel market was 19 percent.
In the third quarter of last year, flat steel imports grew by 17 percent, while long steel products recorded a 22 percent increase, both compared to the same period of the previous year.
Regarding import volumes, although the Russian Federation and Ukraine accounted for a larger share in total EU imports than China, China accounted for 60 percent of total organic coated sheet imports. However, the EU has started an antidumping investigation and filed a countervailing duty complaint on organic coated sheet imports from China.
In 2012, a decrease of almost 11 percent is expected in EU steel imports, but an anticipated mild improvement in EU steel demand in 2013 will reverse this trend, leading to a rise in imports of close to six percent.