European rerollers oppose sanctioning of Russian slab

A consortium of European rerollers opposes the potential sanctioning of Russian slab being mulled by the European Commission in response to complaints from Eurofer.

"Instrumentalising political arguments in what is essentially an economic and competitive issue, integrated manufacturers are promoting an import ban on semi-finished steel products … from Russia, trying to push the rerolling business out of the market," the rerollers say in a letter to the commission obtained by Argus.

The letter is signed by Marcegaglia, Pittini, Officine Tecnosider, Laminoirs des Landes, Vitkovice Steel, Network Steel, Duferco, Dunaferr and NBH (NLMK Belgium Holdings). The group calls itself the Rerollers Platform for a Competitive EU Steel Ecosystem and wants a meeting with the commission to discuss the matter.

NLMK, which owns NBH, is easily the largest seller of Russian slab into Europe, after many of its competitors were sanctioned in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

From January-July, 2.4mn t of slab has been sold from Russia to the EU, down slightly from 2.6mn t over the same period last year and up from 2.2mn t in January-July 2020.

Historically 80pc of the semi-finished steel imported into the EU originated in Russia and Ukraine. The rerollers say there is no alternative to Russian supply, with European mills and third-country producers unable to ensure stable supply. Available alternatives include "a few sanctioned" mills in Iran and several producers in the Americas that are busy with the US and Mexican markets, the rerollers said.

The idling of blast furnace capacity by European mills, which have historically sold less than 5pc of the semi-finished steels bought by rerollers, means they are unlikely to increase supply to their competitors. In some periods, large integrated mills use imports themselves to support their needs.

By Colin Richardson