Jefferson De Paula, president of the Brazilian arm of ArcelorMittal, was quoted by the newspaper Valor Econômico as saying that the company will stop operations of its Resende plant, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, granting collective vacations of the 400 workers of the plant.
De Paula added that they will have technical stoppages in different units of the country, anticipating maintenance operations, as an alternative to face the reduced demand in the domestic market, in his view resulting from a surge of imported products, chiefly from China and at dumping prices.
He mentioned that there is an imminent risk of dismissals, adding that the current scenario could affect the economic growth of the country.
“Brazil was left unprotected in face of the world overcapacity of the steel industry,” he said, adding that the Brazilian steel industry has asked the authorities to impose a 25 percent import tariff for steel products, as a temporary relief for the situation.
Analysts believe that the federal government is concerned with the scenario, but no announcement on the subject has been made so far.
During the first 10 months of 2023, Brazil imported 3.105 million mt of steel products, against 1.785 million mt during the same period of 2022.