Trade Cases
November 30, 2017
Forum on Excess Steel Capacity Draws Mixed Reaction
Written by Sandy Williams
The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity agreed on a framework Thursday for collectively solving the world’s steel overcapacity problem. The 33 members worked together to develop specific policy recommendations using six agreed-upon principles to formulate solutions for bringing steel capacity in line with demand and reducing trade distortions.
Notable is a new sharing of detailed information on current steel plants in existence, new steel plants and expansions, and closures of facilities. The transparency will allow the group to “map” policy landscape in a “fairly exhaustive manner and have information on a broad spectrum of policies that can directly or indirectly affect excess steelmaking capacity,” said the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which served as facilitator for the meeting. The six principles:
