International Steel Mills

Sanction-Hit Severstal Says It Will Divert Tons From EU to Other Markets

Written by Michael Cowden

March 3, 2022

PAO Sevestal is no longer selling steel to the European Union. The Russian steelmaker did not acknowledge – as has been widely reported – that the move was in response to EU sanctions.

“Severstal states that it is experiencing some difficulties in relations with its EU clients, and as a result is redirecting volumes to other markets,” the company said in regulatory filing.

SeverstalCompany owner – billionaire Alexei Mordashov – is among the oligarchs sanctioned by the EU in response to Russian forces invading Ukraine.

Severstal said it would have little trouble finding a new home for its tons.

“As Severstal is one of the lowest cost producers in the world, we are confident that this will help to maintain our capacity utilization,” it said.

The EU is among the largest steel-consuming regions in the world. Severstal in the filing did not say where it would redirect its shipments to.

The company did not respond to requests for comment as to whether some tonnage might be redirected to North America.

Severstal no longer has production operations in the U.S. It was once an important sheet provider via steel mills in Dearborn, Mich., and Columbus, Miss.

The company in 2014 sold the Dearborn mill to the former AK Steel – now part of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. – and the Columbus mill to Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI). But it maintained a presence in North America as an important player in the import market.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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