Murat Cebecioğlu, chairman of IREPAS, the global association for longs producers and exporters, has given the welcome speech at the SteelOrbis Fall 2025 Conference & 93rd IREPAS Meeting taking place in Munich on September 28-30. The conference has attracted over 400 participants, including 123 representatives from 49 steel producers coming from 23 countries and 79 delegates from 41 raw material suppliers.
Recalling that at the last few IREPAS meetings the participants had discussed the adverse circumstances affecting the global long steel market the IREPAS chairman remarked that not much improvement has been observed in the market yet. Noting that protectionist measures are continuing to have a significant impact on the market, Mr. Cebecioğlu said that some US tariffs are being challenged by courts of appeals, leading to more uncertainties than before.
Stating that the global long steel business faces significant challenges in these unfavorable market conditions of low demand and severe competition with China, and also given that Asia’s exports are putting pressure on prices, the IREPAS chairman stated that, despite these challenges, the steel industry has always been successful in its response to difficulties.
Regarding China, he said that a small price increase has recently been observed in China’s domestic market, which has had a positive impact, though future developments in the country will need to be observed.
Commenting on the interest rate cut in Turkey, Cebecioğlu noted that the cut may create an opportunity to move into the global economy, while he said that the main problem is that Turkish steelmakers are currently operating with no profits, creating future damage in the face of global competition.
