b'INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND DECARBONIZATION TAKE CENTER STAGE AT GLOBAL STEEL DYNAMICS FORUM IN NEW YORK by Manik Mehta, AJOT March 2023 | Published in AJOT Issue #751Two issues that were widely discussed at the recent Global SteelDirk Schulz, a visiting German steel analyst put it. Dynamics Forum (GSDF), organized by the World Steel DynamicsU.S. Congressman Frank J. Mrvan, vice chair of the Congressio-and the Association for Iron and Steel Technology in New York,nal Steel Caucus, took stock of the steel industrys current situa-were the Biden administrations upgrading of the infrastructure andtion, dwelling on the future of the steel industry, CO2 emissions in its impact on steel industrys outlook, and secondly the theme ofproduction and, more importantly, as he said, about creating a decarbonization in the process of steel production.level-playing field and other pieces of legislation put forth to Con-The speakers at the forum were also generally bullish aboutgress to protect the steel industry. Mrvans congressional district the industry, keeping in mind that the North American market wasin Indiana is home to Cleveland-Cliffs East Chicago facilities and about to reach a peak driven by several determinants, includinghas a large population of retirees and steel workers.Mrvan said the huge infrastructure allocations, demand from cleaning up theimports subsidized by foreign governments are a threat to the U.S. energy grid, a surge in automotive manufacturing, further declineindustrya veiled reference to China.in imports . all the factors will prop up the American industry, asLevel the Playing Field ActHe said that this was the reason for supporting the bipartisan Level the Playing Field Act, which would grant the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) more flexibility in adjudicating cases and speed up the process.This bipartisan effort is to make sure that the steel industry continues to thrive, Mrvan said. With the push toward vehicle electrification and renewed invest-ment in infrastructure, the U.S. steel industry is poised to break out of the long-standing demand stagnation, Lourenco Goncalves, the chief executive officer of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said. Goncalvesalsowarnedthatattemptstoside-steptrade lawsandUSMCA(UnitedStates,Mexico,andCanada) contentrequirementsthroughMexicoareaproblem.The USMCA is being exploited.That M (in USMCA) is not a license for dumped things to come to the U.S. through Mexico.U.S. Steel producers have been voicing concern that Mexico was being used by China and other countries to ship their excess steel into the U.S. which has a free market arrangement with Mexico and Canada. While acknowledging that transshipments to the U.S. via Mexico were a problem, Maximo Vedoya, Terniums CEO, responded that it was not an exceptionally acute problem and one that is shared between the three USMCA countries. We know we have some problems, but the U.S. has the same, or bigger problems, said Vedoya. Mexican authorities, he pointed out, were working to address transshipments, adding that the problem required close cooperation among the USMCA governments and industry.U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs theRyan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said at the GSDF that 34'