Brazil’s steel association, IABr, also known as Aço Brasil, said the US quota system imposed on Brazilian exports of steel “aren’t that bad at all” for semi-finished steel products. However, a spokesperson for IABr told Brazilian newspaper Valor the impact on finished steel products could be stronger.
IABr did not respond to a request for comments, but it said in a statement the local steel sector did not have a choice other than accepting the US quota system in order to maintain Brazilian steel exports to the country and avoid reducing the steel production capacity in Brazil. Capacity utilization in Brazil is currently at 68 percent while domestic market still recovers from recent economic difficulties.
IABr’s CEO, Marco Lopes, said the US quota should reduce Brazilian exports of semi-finished steel products, such as slab, by about 7.4 percent in 2018, year-on-year, to 3.5 million mt.
As for Brazilian finished steel exports, including HRC and rebar among others, combined tonnages should decline between 20 and 60 percent this year, to 687,000 mt.
Considering existing anti-dumping (AD) duties the US imposed on the Brazilian exports of finished steel products, exports could reduce further to 496,000 mt, Lopes said.