Global steel forum agrees joint action to tackle rising excess capacity

Members of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity agreed Wednesday on a comprehensive framework for joint action to tackle rising excess capacity and its impact on steel producers and workers.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer chaired the ministerial meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where participants reached consensus on the "Milwaukee Framework," according to a statement from his office.

The framework outlines measures countries intend to implement under their national laws, reflecting domestic circumstances and international commitments.

These include reducing market-distorting subsidies, strengthening monitoring of steel imports and coordinating efforts to detect and address circumvention of trade restrictions.

Members also intend to pursue antidumping, countervailing duty and safeguard investigations where appropriate, alongside other trade measures targeting steel and steel-containing products from sources of global excess capacity.

The framework calls for greater transparency on where steel is first melted and poured to help identify suspicious trade patterns and prevent imports displaced from one member's market from entering through another.

Greer said US tariffs, trade agreements, tax policies and energy measures were supporting a revival in the American steel industry, urging partners to adopt similar policies.

"If like-minded partners adopt similar policies, they can hold accountable those countries that are contributing to the problem of global overcapacity in steel," he said.

Excess capacity projected to hit decade high

Despite increased national action and trade remedies, global steel excess capacity continues to rise, according to the ministerial statement.

It is projected to increase from 601 million tonnes in 2024 to 745 million tonnes by 2028, reaching its highest level in a decade and exceeding the forum members’ current combined production by 319 million tonnes.

Ministers warned that their steel industries could not compete on a level playing field without further collective intervention.

They tasked the forum with reviewing implementation of the framework and reporting progress at its next ministerial meeting.

Türkiye, the US, EU, UK, Japan, Canada, Brazil and other economies participated in the meeting.