Steel and metals: 5 news from 5 continents

When working in the metals industry, it's important to keep a 360-degree view of what's going on in the world, especially in a globalized and interconnected globe like ours. For this reason, I have selected for you five interesting news items from as many continents, without claiming to be exhaustive, but with the sole purpose of giving you some food for thought. If you have comments, or you want to request us to deal with specific themes, please step forward by writing to [email protected].

Europe
EU28 apparent steel consumption set to rebound (+11.7%) in 2021
One might say “the worst is over”. It’s not a secret that 2020 was an annus horribilis for the European steel industry, with record falls in terms of production and consumption. However, 2021 began at a different pace: the loosening of the lockdown measures led to a reversal of the trend, suggesting a return to growth in the second half of the year. In particular, according to Eurofer’s latest economic press release, apparent steel consumption in the EU is set to rebound (+11.7%) in 2021, and to grow more moderately (+4.9%) in 2022, returning above 2017 levels.
America
New anti-dumping measures on wire strands
The US Commerce will issue anti-dumping duties on imports of prestressed concrete wire strands from seven countries: Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, and Ukraine. The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) determined on May 11 that a U.S. industry is materially injured by these imports, which are "sold in the United States at less than fair value."
Asia
China announces tax revision on steel trade
As stated by S&P Global Platts, on May 1 China removed VAT rebates on exports of 146 steel products, such as hot rolled coil, wire rod, cold rolled steel sheet, hot-dip galvanized sheet, narrow strip and rebar. At the same time, the Beijing government cut the import duty on pig iron, crude steel and recycled steel to zero. With this move China aims at discouraging steel exports and loosening imports of steelmaking raw materials, lowering the pressure on domestic mills. China's crude steel output in April reached the second-highest level in history, despite production cuts mandated in the steel hubs of Tangshan and Handan in Hebei province.

Africa
$80m steel plant set to change Ghana’s steel industry
In late April, President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo commissioned under the One District One Factory Policy (1D1F) the first phase of an $80-million steel manufacturing company, known as B5 Plus Steel Plant in Prampram. With an annual production capacity of 250 Mt, the factory is the third-biggest fabrication plant in Africa and uses scrap metals collected from across the country as raw material for the manufacture of iron rods, wire rods and round bars. Up to this point, over $4 billion worth of iron and steel products were imported annually. The B5 Plus Steel Plant will go a long way in helping to reverse this trend.
Oceania
Relationships between Australia and China strained: what’s the impact for the metalworking industry?
On May 6, China indefinitely suspended economic dialogue with Australia as a “legitimate” response to Australia’s economic “abuses”. Relationships between the two countries had already been strained since 2018, following Australia’s ban of Huawei from its 5G network, and worsened last year as the country called for an independent investigation into Covid-19. All things considered, Australia remains the largest exporter to China of alumina and spodumene iron ore, and - according to Platts - the impact on these markets should be limited. The unofficial import ban on Australian copper concentrates is likely going to continue.   You might be interested in reading:
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