wiredInUSA december 2018

Sea crossing

EU import quota take-up

Photo by Matt Holmes on Unsplash

The rate at which the European Commission’s import safeguard quotas for wire rod and rebar are filling up is accelerating, and may give domestic long steel producers an opportunity to raise prices, despite slow demand. The European quotas were introduced in mid-July in response to the imposition by the United States of wide-ranging import tariffs on industrial goods, including steel. They will initially run until 3 rd February 2019 before an expected renewal for a further year. Over 70 percent of the initial quota for wire rod imports has been used up, according to the EU tariff quota consultation on 11 th November, accounting for 745,894 tonnes. Rebar imports under the quota system currently total 436,455 tonnes, or 61.05 percent of the initial quota. It now seems certain that wire rod and rebar quotas will be filled in advance of a renewal in February. Metals analyst Fastmarkets estimates that this will happen in December for the wire rod market, and January for rebar, leaving a one or two month window during which imported material will be taxed by the EU at 25 percent of its value. This will price imports out of the market until the quotas are renewed, and would allow domestic producers to increase their market share or raise their prices, or both.

NKT has an order to replace the high voltage AC interconnector system between Denmark and Sweden. The order was won by a consortium with VBMS BV (now Boskalis) and consists of design, production and installation of four 400 kV high voltage power cables, and the removal of the old system. The original cables for the interconnector system across the sea of Öresund were installed in 1973, and thepower link is owned by the Swedish national grid operator Svenska kraftnät. “Interconnectors between countries are essential to ensure an efficient energy distribution across the continent and we are always happy to take part in the development and maintenance of the power grids,” said Andreas Berthou, executive vice president and head of high voltage solutions at NKT. The 36km of 400 kV HVAC extruded power cables will be manufactured at the NKT factory in Karlskrona, Sweden, during 2019, and the project is expected to be completed in 2020. NKT will handle the cable design, manufacturing and onshore installation, and Boskalis will retrieve and recycle the old oil-filled cables and carry out the offshore section of the cable installation.

wiredInUSA - December 2018

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