Baku, Azerbaijan, July 25
By Emil Ilgar – Trend:
Iran says the reason the EU is worried about the country’s dumping in steel export is the perspective of Iran’s export volume, which is projected to reach 25 million tons per year.
After imposing the 35.9-percent duties on China’s steel export to EU in June, the bloc plans to impose 33 percent duties on Iranian, Ukrainian, Russian and Brazilian hot-rolled steel export.
Previously, the EU charged all of these countries on dumping, which led to damage on European steel producers and threats to the steel market, which is the second biggest global market after oil and gas.
Bahram Sobhani CEO of Mobarakeh Steel Company, Iran’s biggest steel maker, told IRNA on July 25 that during the last fiscal year (ended on March 20), Iran exported 6 million tons of steel, about 1.8 million tons more than the previous year.
“This figure is expected to reach 25 million tons per year by 2022 and the EU fears it from this perspective,” he added.
Iran plans to increase steel output from 18 million tons in the last year to 55 million tons per year by 2022, of which 45 percent is planned for exports.
During the last fiscal year, Iran’s steel production increased by 7.8 percent year-on-year and for the current fiscal year, producing 20 million tons of steel is projected, of which 8 million tons would be exported.
Sobhani said that EU has proposed Iran and other four mentioned countries to not sell steel to this union below a certain price.