Steel Mills
EU, US Action Needed in Green Transition: SSAB
May 30, 2023
Swedish steelmaker SSAB is urging ambitious standards for the steel industry’s transition to green steelmaking as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting takes place in Luleå, Sweden, on May 30-31.
Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO of SSAB, said that to succeed in the transition, effective frameworks, political leadership, and action are needed.
“It is also important that Europe and the US together develop green standards to increase market transparency and support the transformation of the steel industry globally, and we welcome that this will be taken up during the two days,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, May 30.
The TTC is the principal forum for the coordination of US and EU strategies on “key global trade and technology issues,” the statement said, noting that the meeting in Luleå is the fourth of its kind.
Sweden holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first six months of 2023.
During the two days there will be a visit to SSAB’s Luleå steel plant as well as its HYBRIT development facility in the city. SSAB and its green steel partners LKAB and Vattenfall launched HYBRIT’s pilot facility for fossil-free hydrogen gas storage last year.
This comes under the backdrop of EU-US tensions over the EU’s proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) that could see carbon tariffs on goods imported to the European Union. The US wants an exemption on CBAM.
In late 2021, the US and EU agreed to eliminate Section 232 tariffs on EU steel and aluminum imports into the US. Additionally, they agreed to initiate discussion leading to an agreement on joint action to reduce steel and aluminum overcapacity in their markets. The deadline for an agreement is Oct. 1, and failure to agree could lead to resuming the US tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe.
By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com
Latest in Steel Mills
Nippon could up investment in USS facilities to $7B: Report
It's the latest twist as the proxy battle heats up for Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel.
Hybar expansion still on the table as Arkansas mill startup nears
As Hybar nears the completion of its $700-million rebar mill in Arkansas, the company said it is still “actively considering” building other steel facilities in the southern US.
Global steel production edges lower in February
February’s global raw steel output is tied with last December's for the fourth-lowest monthly production rate recorded over the past two years.
Fate of U.S. Steel hangs in the balance
The future of U.S. Steel remains unclear, but the proxy fight for control of the company is heating up. Shareholders will cast their votes on the company's future at the annual meeting in May.
Cliffs to idle Dearborn blast furnace, restart Cleveland furnace by July
Cleveland-Cliffs has decided to idle the steelmaking operations at its Dearborn Works in Michigan due to weak automotive demand.