Overview of Industry Dynamics in The International Steel Market

Global Steel Industry Update: Italy's Shutdown, Morocco's Import Relief, Latin America's Potential CBAM, and UAE's Green Hydrogen Ironmaking Initiative

• Italy's ADI plans to shut down blast furnace 2

       Italian steelmaker Acciaierie d'Italia (ADI) announced:Blast Furnace No. 2 in the Taranto area will be shut down between 4 December and 11 December 2023 ,in order to carry out maintenance work on the plant. The plan will affect the normal operation of the raw material park, the coking plant, the steel mill and the rolling mill. It is understood that this follows the shutdown of Blast Furnace 1 in July.

• Morocco Terminates Safeguard Measures on Imports of Steel Reinforcing Bars and Wire Rods

       On 30 November 2023, the WTO Committee on Safeguards issued a notification,concerning the safeguard measures submitted to it by the Moroccan delegation on 29 November. Morocco has decided to terminate, as of 16 October 2023, its safeguard measures on imports of rebar and wire rod, including provisional safeguard measures, given that they have been in place for ten years.

• Latin America may introduce similar measures to EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

       At the annual meeting of the Latin American Iron and Steel Association held in São Paulo, Brazil, on 9 November, in order to balance the inter-regional steel trade, Latin America may in the future refer to the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which applies regional cross-border adjustment measures to imported products with high carbon emissions.

       According to data from the Latin American Iron and Steel Association forecast, Latin American steel production will reach about 58 million tonnes in 2023, down 7.5% year-on-year, while regional steel consumption will reach 71 million tonnes, up 2.4% year-on-year.

• Emirates Steel is building a green-hydrogen reduction ironmaking project

       Emirates Steel Arkan is one of the largest listed steel, building materials and construction companies in the GCC region. Recently, Emirates Steel Arkan and Abu Dhabi Future Energy (Masdar) announced a strategic partnership to work together to promote the use of green hydrogen in steelmaking and help drive the green transformation of steel.

       The project, based in the Emirates Steel production facility in Abu Dhabi Industrial City, currently has the electrolysis unit, the main equipment for producing hydrogen, in the installation phase and expects to complete construction and start trials in early 2024, using green hydrogen to replace natural gas in reducing iron ore. Green hydrogen is produced from renewable energy.