Murat Cebecioğlu, chairman of IREPAS, the global association for longs producers and exporters, has given the welcome speech at the SteelOrbis Spring 2025 Conference & 92nd IREPAS Meeting taking place in Athens on April 27-29. The conference has attracted approximately 500 participants, including 141 representatives from 50 steel producers coming from 18 countries and 96 delegates from 49 raw material suppliers.
The IREPAS chairman said that, when the last conference took place in Athens eight years ago, demand was improving in the global long steel products market and pressure from China was decreasing, against a backdrop of higher utilization rates, low interest rates and the cheaper US dollar. However, today’s markets are currently overwhelmed by a spiral of duties; trade measures and protectionism of this scale have never been experienced before, he noted, adding that tariffs are creating uncertainties on top of already existing problems, making everybody afraid to do business.
Regarding China, Mr. Cebecioğlu indicated that in early March the results of the national congress in China were promising, stating, “We still need to see if production reductions will be realized. If they reduce production, it will be a good sign. But, under the current conditions, exports are becoming increasingly important for China.”
According to the IREPAS official, the current environment is not bright to say the least and competition is very strong, being at maximum levels. The world is going through tough times, amid geopolitical and economic hardships. However, concluding his speech, Cebecioğlu said that the steel industry has always been successful with its response during difficult times.