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Global Overcapacity Makes Tariffs Necessary, Executive Says
05/07/2025 - The scale and scope of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Section 232 steel tariffs are debatable, but what shouldn’t be up for argument is the necessity of them, an SSAB executive said Wednesday.
“Even the best steelmakers in the world and the most productive mills cannot stand up to the flood of global overcapacity. Every market-based economy needs to find a way to shield its producers,” said Benjamin E. Kowing, SSAB vice president and chief technical officer, speaking during the AISTech 2025 Town Hall Forum.
The forum, a signature annual event at AISTech, brings together several industry experts to discuss the high-level, strategic issues facing steelmakers. And one of the most pressing, Kowing said, is global overcapacity.
As he pointed out, the world is projected to have 700 million tons of excess capacity by 2027, much of that from China, which has doubled its export volumes since 2020.
There’s no escaping the fact that a wave of overcapacity is about to hit producers the world over, he said.
“(As a market economy) we need to make investments in steel capacity that return value to shareholders. We’re competing against folks who do not work in that way,” he said.
The forum, a signature annual event at AISTech, brings together several industry experts to discuss the high-level, strategic issues facing steelmakers. And one of the most pressing, Kowing said, is global overcapacity.
As he pointed out, the world is projected to have 700 million tons of excess capacity by 2027, much of that from China, which has doubled its export volumes since 2020.
There’s no escaping the fact that a wave of overcapacity is about to hit producers the world over, he said.
“(As a market economy) we need to make investments in steel capacity that return value to shareholders. We’re competing against folks who do not work in that way,” he said.
