【SMM Steel】Morocco to extend safeguard measure on hot rolled coil imports for three years

According to SMM statistics, total construction steel inventory this period was 8.3259 million mt, down 217,100 mt MoM (-2.54% MoM), shifting from increase to decline. Both mill inventory and social inventory destocked to varying degrees. Social inventory destocking accelerated notably as arrivals dropped. With the dock closure now lifted, subsequent concentrated arrivals of construction steel may lead to social inventory accumulation.

Metinvest's Italian subsidiary, Ferriera Valsider, officially declared force majeure in mid-August 2026 after an unforeseeable breakdown forced the complete shutdown of its hot-rolled coil and heavy plate production lines. The company suspended all contractual performance terms, citing an inability to immediately determine the duration of the significant disruption. Technical teams are currently assessing the damaged equipment to establish a reliable repair timeline and restore normal operations.

The EU's temporary steel safeguard expired at end-June 2026 and a permanent TRQ took its place — duty-free volume nearly halved to about 18.35 Mt, the out-of-quota duty doubled to 50%, and a first-ever "melt and pour" origin rule. Using the official allocations, this piece breaks the quota down category by category and country by country: HRC alone claims about 5.2 million tonnes, Türkiye takes the largest share, Taiwan, China is squeezed hardest — and CBAM stacks a second barrier on top.