b'(L to R) US Trade Rep. Katherine Tai, Phil BellPresident of the Steel Manufacturers Assn. in Washington DCCongress and trade officials were keeping a very close eye on thehe said, adding that while steel users kept demanding green steel, Mexico transshipment issue. steel producers were demanding people who could make it. Werewatchingthatveryclosely.WeregoingtobeveryWhile many participants at the GSDF saying that supply chains carefulofwhatiscominginthebackdoorofourowncoun- were almost back to normal in terms of activity, inventories, and try.Weneed(Mexico)tobeareliablepartner,hesaid.seasonality, some felt that uncertainties in both the government ButtheUSMCA,onthewhole,hasbeenapositivefactorpolicy and risks therefrom would continue in the second half of forNorthAmericaanditssteelproducers,according2023 as firms start to implement long-term supply chain restruc-toAlanKestenbaum,executivechairmanofStelcoInc. turing plans.The USMCA has been a resounding success, he said. DespiteDisruptions during the pandemic were manifested in shortages some holes, I think it is encouraging companies to come and investand delayed deliveries of a wide array of goods made with steel, millions and millions of dollars in (new North American facilities). includinghomeappliances,televisionsets,furniture,machinery Making a presentation on the Global Economic Outlook, Ryanparts/components, etc. That caused disrupted shipping patterns Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said his firmwhich, according to shipping experts, now appear well on the way believed the global economy is likely to tip into a mild recessionto being corrected. late this year or early next year.Some steel industry representatives said they were following the Sweet said the global economy is expected to contract as centralmoves made by the EU and U.S. which are in the process of negoti-banks raise interest rates to fight inflation.Likely,he said, theyllating an agreement on tariffs to be applied on steel and aluminum overcorrect.However, recessions brought on by monetary policybased on the greenhouse gas emissions of production.The Euro-errors tend to be short in duration and limited in severity. In otherpean Commission (EC) has indicated a deal could be completed by words, it would be a condition of high inflation amid low unemploy- October.Asian steel representatives at the GSDF were also curious ment, a case of soft landing.to know to what extent the low water levels in the Panama Canal Decarbonization which did not receive so much attention in thewere restricting ship movements from Asia to the Atlantic basin. past, was discussed at great length at the conference. John Lichten- Philipp Bell, the president of the Steel Manufacturers Associ-stein, the WSDs managing partner, predicted the global emissionsation (SMA) told the American Journal of Transportation that he in the industry in its entirety would decline by 13% between 2019supported the Biden administrations steel policy which was very and 2030. He also expected a significant drop in Chinese produc- helpful to the steel industry.The tariffs, he said, would contribute tion combined with an increase in the share of electric arc furnaceto a level-playing field.I am confident that it (the administrations (EAF) production.policy) is helping strengthen our industry and creating well-paying NucorschiefexecutiveLeonTopalianpointedoutthatorig- steel jobs, he said.inal equipment manufacturers and the automotive industry wereSeparately,steelexecutivesmetattheannualconferenceof emphatically demanding a cleaner product.members of the SMA, and the Metals Service Center Institute held Topalian emphasized that green steel products were an import- under the slogan Building the World Together in Washington.Pol-ant part of the companys product portfolio.Green steel, he added,iticians, including the U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, also was becoming incredibly important, especially for the automotiveattended the event; in her address, Tai outlined to the audience, who and higher-end manufacturers.(Those) segments are demandingincluded top steel executives, the principles that guide her while cleaner and cleaner steels and wanting a true net-zero product. negotiating trade deals like the Global Arrangement on Steel and TopalianremindedofNucorsgreensteelofferingEconia,Aluminium. Tai, who was introduced to the audience by the Nucor launched in 2021; it delivered its first Econia coil to General Motorschairman/president Leon Topalian, sat down for an exchange of in 2022, with the company now expecting to deliver more than 1views with SMA President Bell.million tons in the next 12 months.Demand for it was growing, Back to Contents THE UNCONTAINED 35'