EU finished steel imports have surged since the start of the second half of 2010, almost doubling in August-September with an increase rate of 82 percent year-on-year and weakening the already uncertain recovery in the EU steel market, according to a statement by the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (EUROFER).
With one in three metric tons coming from China, hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports have reached 25 percent of the total EU market supply since July, up from 15 percent in the first half of this year. Import monitoring by EUROFER has revealed intensifying HRC price undercutting of up to 25%, with the largest margins originating in China and Ukraine.
EUROFER said that protective measures introduced by non-EU countries are hampering import flows and shielding domestic markets from increasing import competition, pointing out that some regions such as Arab region are looking to replace imports by bringing new capacities on stream, are considering significant increases in steel import tariffs.
Gordon Moffat, Director General of EUROFER, pointde out. "We are stepping up our monitoring of imports and our screening of third-country steel protectionism as we prepare an appropriate response."