London, 1 April 2010

The European Union (27 countries) exported 30.1m tonnes of steel mill products (semis, long & flat products, tubes) to third countries in 2009. This was only 11% down on the 2008 level while global steel trade fell by 21%, according to forecasts by the Iron & Steel Statistics Bureau. The EU27 was the world’s second largest steel exporter in 2009, after Japan and ahead of Russia, Ukraine and China. Moreover EU27 members imported 48% less steel from third countries in 2009 at 20.8mt. Having been a net importer of 16.5mt in 2007 and 6.3mt in 2008, the EU recorded a net export of 9.3mt in 2009, say ISSB.

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