EU: Steel import continues to slow down in Q1 2023 on unused quotas

The European Union (EU) steel imports continued to slow down in Q1 2023. Quotas for most products and origins were filled slowly, with lots of volumes left unused.

• In the coated segment, there was strong demand for plates from India (97% of category 4A), South Korea (93% of category 4A and 68% of category 4B), and China (88% of category 4B).
  
  
• Hot rolled coils (HRCs) imports were also weak in Q1. Only South Korea utilised 82% of the duty-free HRCs volumes, with 75% of the remaining quota used by Asian exporters. India's quota was utilised to the extent of 30%. In contrast, the UK and Turkey barely utilised their quotas.
  
  
• Rebars import quotas have been exhausted only by 24-66% (depending on the origin), filling the import quota extremely slow during Q1 2023. The reason being "sluggish demand" and a long-lasting downtrend in the European market.
  
  

EU steel import quotas