Stainless steelmaker Aperam has called for the European Commission (EC) to implement "fair trade measures for developing countries that are currently exempt from the safeguard [quota-tariff measures in Europe], such as Indonesia," it said this week.
"The question of exempting certain developing countries remains to be addressed, in particular in hot-rolled stainless steel," chief executive officer Timoteo Di Maulo said during a conference call on Wednesday May 8."[Notwithstanding] state subsidies and tax breaks, material produced with nickel pig iron [NPI] is... highly polluting, with a carbon footprint as much as four times higher than that of Aperam [products]," he added.Europe-based Aperam is in discussions with the EC about imports of both hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel from Indonesia, it said."For cold-rolled material, Indonesia is currently above...