According to the Turkish Steel Producers Association, the European Commission held a hearing regarding the EU safeguard measures on steel in Brussels where Uğur Dalbeler, Çolakoğlu Metalurji CEO and worldsteel board member, Murat Cebecioğlu, export manager of Turkish steelmaker ICDAS, and Orçun Cirav, export and sales manager of Turkish pipe maker Yücel Group expressed their opinions on behalf of the Turkish steel industry.
Mr. Dalbeler remarked that, under the scope of the European Coal and Steel Community agreement, Turkish steel mills are not receiving any state funds and that Turkey has a geopolitical position suitable for exporting to many countries. He went on to say that Turkey does not pose any threat to the European steel producers as the average capacity utilization rate in the Turkish flat steel industry has reached peak levels, and also due to the growth in end-user industries and the expected increase in flat steel consumption in the Turkish domestic market.
Regarding long products, Murat Cebecioğlu stated that the EU’s rebar imports declined both in 2016 and 2017, and so rebar should be excluded from the investigation. He recalled that the import duty on rebar is currently zero in Turkey, exposing the Turkish rebar market to competition from all around the world, and so he stressed that Turkish producers are also competing with import products in the domestic market.
The ICDAS official said that Turkish capacity utilization rates for rebar have increased and that the export markets of Turkish long steel producers have become diversified, and, accordingly, the Turkish steel market will not be affected by the Section 232 measures in the US. He also affirmed that the rebar exports which will not be able to enter the US market will not be diverted to the EU.
Regarding hollow sections and pipes, Orçun Cirav stated that the Turkish steel pipe industry is profit-focused and dynamic and does not receive any subsidies from the government in Turkey.