Trade Cases

Steel Forum Moving Toward Report on Excess Capacity

September 12, 2017

G-20 members are on track to hold their first official meeting of the Global Steel Forum on Excess Steel Capacity this fall. The forum was formed last year during the 2016 meetings to find “collective solutions” to remedy steel overcapacity and discourage protectionism. The group met informally at the Summit in Hamburg in July 2017.

Members have been meeting at the working-group level compiling information for a comprehensive report on overcapacity, reported Inside U.S. Trade. At the Hamburg G-20 meeting, the forum was instructed to meet “commitments on enhancing information sharing and cooperation” by August and produce a “substantive” report with “concrete policy solutions” by November.

“Almost all the Global Forum members are now providing complete plant-level data on steel plants and relevant information on government policies and measures,” an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development official told Inside U.S. Trade.

China and India, two of the largest contributors to excess capacity, have shown signs of “increasing agreement” on the issue, and members are optimistic that firm steps to address steel overcapacity will be offered in the November report.

The forum will convene Sept. 25-27 in Paris to begin drafting the November report. According to a forum official, members will discuss information that has been shared and “current practices that may be influencing steel capacity and market developments. Members will look at effective steps to reduce excess capacity with a view to developing concrete policy solutions.”

Another working level meeting is expected to be scheduled for late October or early November and a formal ministerial meeting in late November or early December.

The forum’s mission is set against the timetable for a potential barring of steel imports into the U.S. in a Section 232 action by the Trump administration. The Commerce Department has until Jan. 14 to submit recommendations to the president.

The U.S. steel industry has urged the administration to move forward on its decision in order to relieve uncertainty in the global steel sector. Opponents of the Section 232 action urge multilateral discussions to solve overcapacity and to ensure fair and open markets.