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In Europe, steel costs less than a bottle of water. In the United States, it costs almost double if it comes from abroad. And in China, it produces so much that the world no longer knows what to do with it. According to estimates by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), The excess world capacity will reach 721 million tons within two years. And no one is willing to stop.
Steel that is left over. The steel industry lives a perfect storm: global overproduction, state subsidies, fall in internal demand in China and protectionist policies. In a report for the New York Times They have explained it through the Tata Steel plant in Ijmuiden (Netherlands), one of the most advanced in Europe. It manufactures steel on commission for high precision applications. Even so, the company announced 1,600 layoffs this spring, while 18,000 jobs were cut throughout the European Union and nine million tons of capacity were closed in 2024.
The background reason, As explained by the same mediumis the avalanche of cheap steel from China, which manufactures more than the rest of the combined world. This overproduction, fueled by government support and lower environmental standards, has flooded global markets, forcing traditionally non -exporting countries such as South Korea and Japan to seek buyers desperately.
A scale problem. Steel is much more than an industrial product. As He remembered for the New York environment Atlantic Council researcher Elisabeth Braw, steel is one of the few goods that every country wishes to have “in any circumstance.” Its use ranges from food cans and forks to war tanks and combat planes.
However, there is another aspect to take into account: steel pollutes. As We have already explained in Xatakaeach ton produced emits two tons of CO₂, which is equivalent to 7% of global emissions. This makes steel an obstacle to achieving climatic objectives.
The paradox is clear: the world needs less steel, but nobody wants to be the first to close ovens. The industry is too big to abandon it, but too inefficient to sustain it as it is. This generates a vicious circle between price drop, minimum margins, lack of investment in clean technologies and greater pollution.
The King of Steel. China is not only the largest world producer of steel, but also exerts a disproportionate influence on the global market. It produces more than the rest of the combined planet, largely thanks to a more lax state and environmental regulations system than in the West. According to data from the National Statistics Office cited by BloombergChinese production registered in June the greatest fall in ten months, due to adjustments in the capacity and government pressure to contain internal competition. Even so, more than 60 % of Chinese gatherings are already profitable, a notable leap compared to 30 % of just a year ago, driven by the rebound in demand in sectors such as automotive, machinery and, above all, exports.
These exports have continued to grow despite international tariffs and commercial tensions, flooding markets in Europe, Asia and Africa with steel at dumping prices. This dynamic has reduced the margins of Western steel and left them without sufficient resources to invest in low carbon technologies, a problem that the OECD considers a critical obstacle to achieve the climatic objectives. With an still weak internal consumption for the real estate crisis, Beijing seems to bet more and more to export its excess steel as an economic influence tool, which multiplies clashes with the United States and Europe.
Another power wants to face. The United States also wants to regain control of its industry. In January 2025, then President Joe Biden blocked the purchase of Us Steel by the Japanese Nippon Steel, claiming national security motifs. The decision, backed even by Donald Trump and by the unions in the sector, generated diplomatic discomfort in Tokyo and tensed the relationship with one of its main strategic allies.
Six months later, that same logic translates into terrain conversions. In an article for The Washington Post They have detailed as in Weircon (Western Virginia), a city forged by the steel, the company Form Energy has occupied part of the vacuum left by the closure of the local steelter, hiring more than 400 workers – many of them extrabajadores of the steel – to manufacture energy storage batteries. Although initially driven by federal subsidies, the initiative has even survived the cuts of the Trump administration, and represents an attempt to reindustrialize without fully renouncing the steel legacy.
The message is clear: the United States does not want to let your steel, your industrial narrative, fall into foreign hands.
And Europe is trapped. In all this triangle, Europe loses ground, trapped Between the Chinese dumping and Tariff hostility of his Atlantic ally. And now, in addition, committed to buying massive amounts of fossil fuels to avoid major sanctions.
Being more concrete, Europe has some of the most advanced gaits in the world, such as the Tata Steel plant in Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, which manufactures specialized steel for batteries and high -end cars. However, he is facing a perfect storm: high energy costs, strict environmental standards, unfair competition and political pressure.
Despite attempts to modernize – like Tata’s plan to go to hydrogen – the necessary investment is counted in billions. In addition, American tariffs have hindered European exports, just when block countries need income to finance ecological transition. As for the United Kingdom, the government has had to intervene high ovens and subsidize plants to avoid massive closures. And in Germany, European industrial bastion, the approaches face the largest decline in decades, with a 11.6 % drop in production during the first half of 2025, According to The New York Times.
Where does steel go? The steel faces a crossroads: between the industrialization of the twentieth century and the ecological demands of the 21st century. The only sustainable output seems to be green steel. Companies such as Swedish SSAB have already begun to produce it through hydrogen technology, reducing their emissions to simple drops of water. Volvo, among others, has already received his first orders. But, As we have detailed in Xatakathe price of this steel is still between 30 and 60 % higher than the conventional one, which makes it unfeasible without fiscal subsidies or reforms.
In Netherlands, Tata plans to convert its plant to a version that works with renewable hydrogen and gas by 2030. In Wales, the British government granted 500 million pounds to replace coal ovens with electric ovens. But even those investments do not guarantee long -term viability if the market is still distorted.
A dilemma without simple solution. The world is drowned in steel. But nobody wants to turn off the furnaces. Not for now. The battle for steel is no longer freed in high ovens or in metal bags. Today it fights in courts, parliaments and entire communities that try to reinvent themselves. And the dilemma is still intact: we produce too much steel, but reduce production means losing jobs, power, security …
And so, steel has become one of the most complex dilemmas of the present industrial. As has affirmed for the New York Times Elisabeth Braw, from Atlantic Council: “No one expected the steel market to be distorted so much … and less in a way that would collide with national security interests. But that’s where we are.” Steel gave us cities, bridges, weapons and cars. Today, it is also giving us a warning. Because holding the past could leave too expensive.
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