EU protectionism will affect the purchase of rolls of Italian quality
Increasing European import restrictions pose a risk to the availability of rolls of certain grades and sizes that are not widely produced in Europe, Riccardo Benso, executive director of the Albasider service center, said in an interview with Kallanish during the Made in Steel exhibition in Milan last week.
Some high-quality products in Europe are sold at very high prices and have limited availability. There are concerns about the willingness and ability of European factories to supply products of certain sizes and quality to small and medium-sized customers.
"The rules set from above do not meet the needs of our complex economic system. I am concerned about the potential negative impact on quality," said Benso, who is also a former president of the Italian steel trade association Assofermet. "We traveled all over the world to select the best[coils]varieties; we created partnerships that will have to be rethought, and now we will have to spend a lot of time exploring new varieties."
"There is no certainty that all new origins will offer the quality that our customers require, and therefore, in my opinion, there will be a problem with offering high-quality products, which in any case may cause some confusion among customers, as well as some problems for the European industrial system, he continued."If Europe wants to be competitive in global markets, knowing that it has higher costs, it must in any case offer a value-added product. "
Benso expects that a transition period will be required to adapt to the new conditions. a protectionist landscape; however, he argues that appropriate countermeasures will be taken in the downstream supply chain and equivalent quality standards will be successfully maintained.
The European Commission is currently reviewing the Carbon Boundary Regulation Mechanism (CBAM). However, there is a significant risk that the new system may not take into account the implications for the European processing sector and the processing industry.
" Europe is a major exporter … We excel at creating outstanding products and selling them, even if they are a little more expensive than others. We must maintain our exceptional ability to offer our products to global markets. … We need to pay attention to competitiveness variables, so we should not develop a CBAM tool that protects only the upstream supply chain," Benso said.
Assofermet's cooperation with European and other metallurgists in the supply chain has improved, this cooperation