Brazilian slab should be exempt from the delayed US 232 section investigation, a CEO at a top Brazilian flats producer told reporters in the sidelines of the Brazil Steel Congress this week in Brasilia.
“We’re pretty confident Brazilian slab will stay out of the US 232 section, if it’s approved,” said Benjamin Baptista Filho, CEO at flats and longs steelmaker ArcelorMittal Brazil.
“[Brazilian] slab doesn’t harm [the US market.] This is a product that is re-processed there and which generates jobs. I don’t think it makes sense to put any restriction to Brazilian slab,” the executive said.
Baptista Filho said Brazil currently exports 10 million mt of slab annually, but there’s room for local producers, including Ternium’s Companhia Siderurgica do Atlantico (CSA) and Vale’s Companhia Siderurgica do Pecem (CSP).
“Slab is a Brazilian talent. Brazil always played a leading role worldwide in the slab business and it will continue playing that role,” he said.
“It’s getting more and more difficult to export some products [like HRC and CRC, following duties on Brazilian flats], but markets are still open for some other markets [like slab.] The world is bigger than Brazil. But we’ll always find market for our slab if we have competitive costs,” he said.
Questioned by SteelOrbis if ArcelorMittal Brazil would further increase flat steel prices, Baptista Filho said the company will just “follow the market.”