At the annual meeting of Federacciai, the Italian iron and steel association, held on September 18 at the headquarters of Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore in Milan, Federacciai president Antonio Gozzi said that the Italian steel industry is experiencing a phase of growth that seems to be consolidating. "In recent years, we have fought to defend the honor of the Italian steel industry, which is the second-biggest steel industry in Europe after Germany’s," he stated.
"We have been convinced advocates of an economic policy vision that is geared towards growth and, in particular, to domestic demand growth," continued Gozzi. "A large industrial country cannot live only by means of exports, though they are an important element for the Italian economy. There is a serious delay in the implementation of both tangible and intangible infrastructures, a delay that is accumulating and that risks seriously compromising the overall competitiveness of our country. We have fought and will fight in Brussels to make our point of view count."
"We are deeply committed to defending at all levels the rules of non-asymmetrical and fair international trade. We defend the free market and of course we are opposed to protectionism and barriers. However, we cannot let our industry to be exposed to all the gimmicks of those who do not respect market rules and use all tools to assert their position at the expense of others, i.e., with dumping or subsidies."
"The US threatens to close their borders against steel imports (about 26 million mt per year) by citing national security reasons. Faced with all this, the response of the European Commission has been characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity, despite the stances of the European Parliament and several member states."
"Meanwhile, the issue of Algeria is ongoing. In a blatant breach of the Free Trade Agreement that links Algeria to the EU, in 2017, aggravating a situation that had already occurred in 2016, the Algerian authorities, through import licenses, reduced rebar imports by half, causing serious damage to Italian companies for which the Algerian market had become crucial in recent years."
"Also, the asymmetry of controls between the EU and Turkey remains an issue, as Turkey continues to ask for an enlargement of the customs union with the EU without giving any assurance on the effectiveness and correctness of customs controls at its borders. This leads to the obvious risk of circumvention by steel product imports from those countries that are hit by European antidumping measures."
Mr. Gozzi concluded by saying, "International trade and defense tools will remain one of the major issues in the years to come. It will be a tricky and difficult subject, which will require Europe to adopt a different approach to that which has been adopted until now."