Speaking on Monday at the SteelOrbis 2023 Fall Conference & 89th IREPAS Meeting being held in Istanbul on September 17-19, Uğur Dalbeler, vice president of the Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association (CIB), board member of worldsteel and general manager of Turkish steelmaker Çolakoğlu Metalurji, opened his speech celebrating the 40th anniversary of IREPAS, thanking “all who contributed to the association reaching such an important level”. He said that IREPAS, now a huge community, initiated by only a few people, has evolved into such a community by including all stakeholders, not only producers but also consumers, raw material suppliers, logistics companies and even financial institutions.
Addressing the current state of the steel industry, Mr. Dalbeler noted that, according to the World Trade Organization, global trade is declining due to the strength of the dollar, high inflation and conflicts around the world. He added that the game is changing and the rules are being rewritten by developed nations. “Starting with the US and continuing with the EU, the developed economies are closing their doors. After benefitting from free trade all these years, they have decided to change the rules of the game because their competitive strength is declining,” the Çolakoğlu official stressed.
Indicating that its growth period is over and that the Turkish steel industry is now in a period of stagnation, he added, “We try to keep what we have in our hands and it is not going to be easy.” He went on to say that, apart from trade remedies, sanctions arising from the war in Ukraine are also hurting the Turkish steel industry in a very negative way. Another struggle he underlined is the decarbonization of the steel industry. He pointed out that, while the EU has initiated its carbon border adjustment mechanism, Turkey has still not done anything much to bring its regulations into force so that it can at least comply with the EU’s regulations.
Lastly, Dalbeler talked about Çolakoğlu which has increased its capacity to 4.5 million mt, has strengthened its quality capabilities, and is also making some improvements to be leaner and more sustainable.