July 13, 2022 – There is growing anger among Italian steel and stainless steel buyers toward Indian steel producers and the steel export tax. Increasingly, market sources are reporting that they are collecting the 15% steel export tax on certain steel and stainless steel products from European customers. Is the scrap export ban for the United Kingdom now also coming? And EU sanctions against Russia continue to intensify.
Is the UK scrap export ban coming?
The liberal conservative British think tank Bright Blue Group has proposed halving scrap exports for the United Kingdom by 2030. This is intended to keep ferrous scrap in the country as a raw material for the steel industry, similar to what the European Union is planning with the new Waste Shipment Regulation and what domestic steel producers have lobbied for.
Steel scrap is needed for green steel
Iron and steel scrap, which is considered a strategic raw material for the transformation to green steel production, is still often exported from the major industrialized nations and recycled in other countries, such as Turkey. This is a thorn in the side of Western steel manufacturers in particular.
In view of the dwindling number of free ETS certificates in the EU, which are also tied to increasingly stringent CO2 emission requirements, and the forthcoming EU Carbon Border Tax (CBAM), there is now a great need for the beleaguered British steel manufacturers to act quickly. Otherwise, their products will be subject to a CO2 tax at the EU external border in the future.
Indian steel export tax: Growing anger in Italy
In Italy, growing discontent is spreading among steel buyers. Following the introduction of a 15% export tax on Indian steel and stainless steel, Indian steel producers are asking their customers to pay up. And this is not going down well in Italy, but also in many other EU countries.
India had already taken measures to collect steel export taxes from European customers.
Indians to pay EU Safeguard duties?
Market sources report that questions are being asked as to why European buyers should bear the steel export tax and at the same time demand that Indian suppliers should also be able to pay the anti-dumping, countervailing and 25% safeguard duties in future if Indian tariff rate quotas are once again significantly overbooked.
This is already causing steel buyers to consider alternatives to Indian steel and stainless steel.
European Union tightens Russia sanctions
On July 11, 2022, the transitional period during which it was possible to import certain sanctioned products from Russia into the European Union or export them to Russia ended, provided the contracts were signed before the sanctions were introduced.
Affected products
Prohibited goods include used and new furniture and its spare parts, wood-based materials and other products made of wood, fertilizers containing potassium, new pneumatic tires, cement, caviar, glass bottles, certain aluminum products, and other items.
Iron and steel, cement, petroleum
As previously reported, the EU had already imposed sanctions on the transit of Russian iron, steel and black metal through EU member states. Now the list will be extended to include cement and alcohol. From August, the transport of coal will be banned, and from December, the transport of petroleum products.
Latest news
- Scrap trading running at full speed
- China aluminium, EU officially lift anti-dumping suspension
- Safeguard Quotas, Indian Stainless Steel Bars 50% Overbooked?
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Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
