European steelmakers association Eurofer has issued a statement ahead of the next G20 forum calling for further actions to reduce global overcapacity instead of pushing trade defence protection to a new level.

In the statement sent to Kallanish, director general Axel Eggert notes that “... until global overcapacity is dealt with in a coherent way, trade defence instruments will continue to play an outsize role in preventing dumping”.

The association also adds that the US section 232 investigation into whether the imports of steel in the country are a matter of national concern could be harmful for NATO allies of the US.

“The 3.2 million tonnes of steel we export to the US are sold under free and fair market conditions. European steel producers are in no sense a threat to US national security. Only a very small proportion of the products exported have any plausible defence or security application,” Eggert says. “Section 232 is the wrong tool for the US to deploy to defend its steel from the dumping driven by global steel overcapacity, particularly if it harms the US’ allies.”

Eurofer also calls for renewed efforts by the G20 steel overcapacity forum, established in 2016, to address issues in the global steel market instead of blanket trade measures.