Steel

Wootz steel is a crucible steel characterized by a pattern of bands, which are formed by sheets of micro carbideswithin a tempered martensite or pearlite matrix in higher carbon steel, or by ferrite and pearlite banding in lower carbon steels. It is the pioneering steel alloy developed in Southern India in the 6th century BC and exported globally. It was also known in the ancient world by many different names including Ukku, Hindvi Steel, Hinduwani Steel, Teling Steel and Seric Iron. The Arabs introduced the South Indian/Sri Lankan wootz steel to Damascus, where an industry developed for making weapons of this steel. The 12th century Arab traveler Edrisimentioned the "Hinduwani" or Indian steel as the best in the world^[1]. Arab accounts also point to the fame of ‘Teling’ steel, which can be taken to refer to the region of Telengana. Golconda region of Telangana clearly being nodal centre for the export of wootz steel to West Asia. Another sign of its reputation is seen in a Persian phrase – to give an "Indian answer", meaning "a cut with an Indian sword". Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe and the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the Middle East.

Damascus steel was the forged steel comprising the blades of swords smithed in the Near East from ingots of wootz steel imported from India and Sri Lanka. These swords are characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water. Such blades were reputed to be tough, resistant to shattering, and capable of being honed to a sharp, resilient edge. The steel is named after Damascus, the capital city of Syria. It may either refer to swords made or sold in Damascus directly, or it may just refer to the aspect of the typical patterns, by comparison with Damask fabrics (which are themselves named after Damascus).

镔铁古代的一种钢，把表面磨光再用腐蚀剂处理，可见花纹，又称“宾铁”。明代曹昭的《格古要论》卷六说，镔铁有旋螺花、芝麻雪花；常用的腐蚀剂为金丝矾，又名黄矾（硫酸铁）。镔铁原产波斯(今伊朗)、罽宾（今克什米尔）、印度等地，约在南北朝时传入中国。此后中国也掌握了制炼镔铁的技术。古代中近东、南亚有花纹的钢器分为两大类：一种以印度乌茨（Wootz）钢为原料制成；一种以高碳钢和熟铁叠打而成。唐慧林《一切经音义》卷55所说镔铁“以诸铁和合”，当指后者。镔铁主要用来制作刀剑，镔铁剑极其锋利，有“吹毛透风”之誉。



Galfan is a type of steel that is coated with a zinc-aluminum layer instead of a traditional galvanized steel zinc layer because the zinc-aluminum layer has superior corrosion resistance. This superior corrosion resistance allows thinner layers of protective coatings to be applied.https://www.corrosionpedia.com/definition/562/galfan

eco-steel

- economist 15may2021 "green steel" SSAB, a steelmaker, is poised to deliver its first consignment of "eco-steel" from a hydrogen-fuelled pilot plant in lulea, a northern city


World market
- China steel exports disrupt markets http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/5bb61958-58f2-11e4-a722-00144feab7de
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3520382/Britains-Cameron-urges-talks-steel-crisis-China-G20.html Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron wants Britain and China to work together to tackle over-capacity in the steel industry and that the G20 could be a good forum to address it later in the year, his spokesman said on Saturday. Cameron, who spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, is trying to salvage Britain's steel industry after Tata Steel put its British plants up for sale, putting thousands of jobs at risk. The government has said it is working to broker a deal with potential buyers after Tata Steel sought to end its almost decade-long venture in Britain, which employs 15,000 people but has been hit by high costs and Chinese competition. Steelmakers in Britain pay some of the highest energy costs and green taxes in the world, but the government says the fundamental problem facing the industry is the collapse in the price of steel, caused by overcapacity in China. Britain imported 826,000 tonnes of Chinese steel in 2015, up from 361,000 two years earlier, according to the International Steel Statistic bureau. China said on Friday it would impose import tariffs of up to 46 percent on some steel, including a type of hi-tech steel imported from Japan, South Korea and the European Union.

- The appointment of a voluntary administrator to Arrium – the owner of the Whyalla steelworks – heralds the start of both the break-up of this corporate conglomerate but more importantly adds to the inevitability that the steelworks operation (as we know it)  will ultimately disappear. And with it a large part of what is left of  traditional heavy manufacturing in Australia. Malcolm Turnbull did his best to give the steelworks a de facto government assistance package a few weeks ago. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/arrium-the-company-that-malcolm-turnbull-couldnt-save-20160407-go0gf5.html#ixzz457K2lk4B 

- http://www.ft.com/fastft/2016/04/07/steelmaker-arrium-enters-voluntary-administration/ arrium’s board said today in a statement to the ASX it has appointed Grant Thornton as voluntary administrator after the company failed to reach an agreement with its angry banking syndicate,writes Peter Wells. Spun off from BHP Billiton as OneSteel in 2000, Arrium’s key asset is a steel mill that employs thousands in the South Australian town of Whyalla. Its future is now in doubt, with a break-up of the company a possibility. Arrium has been suffering under a A$2.8bn debt pile with the Whyalla mill unable to compete with Asian rivals at current prices, even after the company cut costs. In February, US-based GSO Capital, the credit arm of Blackstone, laid out a $927m recapitalisation plan which would have offered creditors 55 cents in the dollar. Arrium’s lenders, which include all of Australia’s “big four” banks, were furious for not being consulted about the recap, and instead pushed hard for a rival voluntary administrator, McGrath Nicol, to be installed. They hoped to receive greater preference among creditors, as well as a bigger say in the future direction of the company. A break-up is a possibility, with some private equity firms reported to be eyeing Arrium’s Moly Corp business, which makes components for mining machinery and is profitable. At the peak of the mining boom and before the worst of the financial crisis, Arrium enjoyed a market capitalisation of nearly A$7bn. Before being suspended from trade on Wednesday as it made a last-ditch attempt to reach an agreement with its creditors, it had a market cap of A$64.6m. Its share price had fallen 99.5 per cent from its 2008 peak. In 2012, Tony Abbott, then the leader of the federal opposition, warned that Whyalla would be “wiped off the map” if the Labor government’s proposal for a national carbon tax were approved.
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20160413/00180_006.html 德國城市杜伊斯堡周一有逾四萬五千名工人罷工及示威，抗議中國向德國傾銷鋼材，又反對歐盟修改環保法例及企業整合。示威者表示，擔憂會步英國鋼鐵工人後塵，飯碗不保。-http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2016-05/13/content_25246874.htmTata Steel Ltd's UK assets have attracted interest from Hebei Iron & Steel Group as thecompany shortlists bidders for the money-losing operations, people familiar with the matter said. Indian producer JSW Steel Ltd is also weighing a bid, which would put it in competition withLiberty House Group and Excalibur Steel UK Ltd, a buyout team led by a Tata executive, said thepeople, who asked not to be named because the deliberations are private.
- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3532013a-1cb3-11e6-b286-cddde55ca122.html The US has paved the way for the imposition of duties of as much as 500 per cent on Chinese cold-rolled steel, used to make cars and washing machines, as a backlash escalates against a glut of Chinese steel flooding global markets. The US Department of Commerce on Tuesday said it had determined that imports of Chinese cold-rolled steel should be subject to anti-subsidy duties of 256.4 per cent and anti-dumping duties of 265.8 per cent. Those duties could come into effect as soon as this summer if a separate review determines that the imports have caused “injury” to the US steel industry.

- https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/18/uk-and-eu-urged-to-act-on-chinese-steel-dumping-after-us-hikes-duty-on-imports Britain’s steel trade body and unions have called on the UK and the EU to take urgent action to stop Chinese steel dumping, after the US government increased tariffs to more than 500%. In an escalation of the trade spat, the US has raised its tariffs on imports of cold rolled steel from China to 522% from 266%, citing a refusal to cooperate with anti-dumping investigations. By comparison, the EU has imposed provisional tariffs on China of 16% for cold rolled steel, which is used to manufacture cars and appliances and in construction. The UK is one of 14 countries that have been blocking EU plans to impose tougher sanctions on cheap Chinese steel imports. Sajid Javid, the business secretary, has said it would not be right for the EU to scrap regulations known as the “lesser duty rule”, which some countries want to end in order to allow higher tariffs on Chinese steel.

• https://www.ft.com/content/a7e702ca-93a0-11e6-a1dc-bdf38d484582 Europe’s steelmakers are urging EU leaders to take a tougher stance on unfair trade to help preserve the industry on the continent at a time when it is under pressure from cheap Chinese imports.

- Fears are growing that the mega-merger between Tata and Thyssenkrupp’s European steel business to create a £13.3bn-a-year industry giant and safeguard their futures – along with thousands of British jobs – will only grant a temporary reprieve. The “momentous” tie-up announced on Wednesday between Indian conglomerate Tata’s Europe steel business and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp comes as Western steel companies face intense competition from cut-price Chinese producers. However, UBS has questioned whether the strategy behind the deal – to produce advanced steel China cannot – is a long-term remedy. The heavyweight bank said China could quickly catch up, negating the rationale for the merger. If this happens Europe’s steel sector could be plunged back into a crisis of the like seen two years ago which cost more than 10,000 jobs.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/09/20/fears-tata-thyssenkrupp-steel-mega-merger-may-temporary-reprieve/
- China’s HBIS Group will buy Tata Steel’s production assets in Southeast Asia, its latest move to expand its overseas steelmaking capacity after an investment in the Philippines in December. HBIS Group, the second-largest steel producer in China, will purchase Singapore-based NatSteel Holdings (NSH), fully owned by Tata Steel, and the 67.9 percent stake that Tata holds in Tata Steel (Thailand) Public Company (TSTH) for $327 million and a 30 percent share of the equity of the new combined companies, HBIS and Tata Steel said on Monday. NatSteel and TSTH have combined steel production capacity of around 3.7 million tonnes per year and assets in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-steel-hbis-tata/chinas-hbis-to-buy-southeast-asian-holdings-from-tata-steel-idUSKCN1PN0FM

- With Beijing questioning major miners on their role in record-high prices that are squeezing steel mill margins, Anglo-Australian iron ore miner Rio Tinto says it expanded its iron ore shipments and on-demand sales to meet increased demand for the steelmaking ingredient in China this year. On Tuesday, China Iron & Steel Association (CISA), the domestic steel industry association, held a video conference with Rio, one of China’s biggest iron ore suppliers, days after an online meeting with rival
miner BHP, and said the current ore price was “unreasonable”. That price stood at about US$153 per tonne on Wednesday, after reaching nearly US$160 a tonne last week – about double the price at the start of the year. CISA questioned whether miners had deliberately restricted supplies to send prices soaring. However, commodities analysts said factors such as buoyant demand for steel production, as well as speculation in iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodities Exchange (DCE), had also contributed to the high prices.https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114234/china-australia-relations-miner-rio-tinto-questioned-china
- 越南工業貿易部前日公布，自下周一起，調整對中國進口的部分冷軋鋼卷和鋼板的反傾銷稅，為期5年；稅率由4.43%至25.22%。此外，馬來西亞國際貿易及工業部（MITI）公布，對來自中國、南韓及越南的部分特定軋鋼卷徵收反傾銷稅。中國稅率為2.18至18.88%，南韓為9.98%至34.94%，越南為3.06%至37.14%。這些關稅措施已於本月12日生效，為期5年。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20201224/00178_018.html

- ft 11mar2021 suppliers, politicians and unions raise alarm over gupta's brittle empire

usa
- company

• The Bethlehem Steel Corporation (commonly called Bethlehem Steel) was a steel and shipbuilding company that began operations in 1904 and was America's second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder. The Bethlehem Steel roots trace back to 1857 with the establishment of the Bethlehem Iron Company; the Bethlehem Iron Company (also known as Bethlehem Iron Works or simply Bethlehem Iron) was established as the Saucona Iron Company and ceased operations in 1901. However, the Bethlehem Steel legacy began in 1899 with the formation of the first Bethlehem Steel, the Bethlehem Steel Companywhich was two years before the Bethlehem Iron Company ceased operations. The Bethlehem Steel Company (also known as Bethlehem Steel Works) leased all properties from the Bethlehem Iron Company from 1899 to 1901 and assumed ownership of all properties from the Bethlehem Iron Company after the Bethlehem Iron Company ceased operations. The Bethlehem Steel Company became the primary subsidiary company of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in 1904. The Bethlehem Steel Company is the first Bethlehem Steel while the Bethlehem Steel Corporation is the second Bethlehem Steel; both companies existed simultaneously after 1904, but the Bethlehem Steel Company was eventually merged into the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in the 1960s. The Bethlehem Steel Corporation (using the Bethlehem Steel Company) and the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, which was also a Bethlehem Steel Corporation subsidiary, were two of the most powerful symbols of American industrial manufacturing leadership. Their demise is often cited as one of the most prominent examples of the U.S. economy's shift away from industrial manufacturing, its failure to compete with cheap foreign labor, and management's penchant for short-term profits. After a decline in the American steel industry and other problems leading to the company's bankruptcy in 2001, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation was dissolved and the remaining assets sold to International Steel Group in 2003; Bethlehem Steel Corporation did not merge with/into International Steel Group.

- 美國總統特朗普周三簽署新公告，放寬向阿根廷、南韓及巴西徵收鋼鐵關稅的進口配額。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180831/00180_003.html
- ft 4jun19  merged chinese steelmakers set to exceed output of us industry
- 美國商務部周二（2日）宣布，將對部分在台灣或南韓生產、其後運到越南加工才出口輸美鋼鐵製品，徵收最多456%的懲罰性關稅。商務部指上述鋼鐵製品在本國生產後，運往越南加工藉以逃避美國的反傾銷和反補貼關稅。分析指，華府此舉是為打擊越南，因後者容許大陸繞道利用「越南製造」假標籤，避過美國加徵的關稅。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190704/00180_001.html
- https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/09/economy/us-steel-china-mexico/index.html The United States is calling for new duties on some steel products from Mexico and China, saying exporters in those countries received unfair subsidies. The US Department of Commerce said Monday that exporters of fabricated structural steel in China benefited from subsidies ranging between about 30% and 177%, while those in Mexico received subsidies of up to 74%. The department said it will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to start collecting cash deposits from importers of the steel products from both countries. It noted that the decision is preliminary, and final determinations will be announced around November 19.
- 美國高盛及摩根大通等多間銀行及全球最大商品貿易商嘉能可，數年前遭鋁材買家入稟控告合謀操縱鋁價、違反反壟斷法，其後上訴得直獲撤控。位於紐約曼哈頓的聯邦第二巡迴上訴法院三名法官周二通過，接納鋁材買家提出的訴訟，發還重審。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190829/00180_026.html
- 美國商務部周三宣布，將向中國及墨西哥價值逾十億美元（約七十八億港元）的鋼架徵收反傾銷關稅，其中針對中國鋼架的稅率可高達141.4%。商務部初步調查指控，中墨兩國向美國市場傾銷鋼架，故作出反制措施。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190906/00178_002.html
- 美國總統特朗普周一在社交網表示，巴西及阿根廷操縱本國幣值，令美國農民蒙受損失，他宣布即時起，恢復對上述兩國進口的鋼鋁加徵關稅。他又呼籲聯邦儲備局減息及實施寬鬆政策，以防其他國家再透過將貨幣貶值，在強美元下獲利。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20191203/00180_018.html
- 為促進國內生產及保障國家安全，美國總統特朗普上周五簽署公告，除個別國家外，將於下月八日對進口鋼鐵衍生產品關稅額外提高25%，而進口鋁製衍生產品關稅亦會另增加多10%。總統公告列明，美國將豁免阿根廷、澳洲、巴西、加拿大、墨西哥及南韓衍生鋼鐵產品的額外關稅，亦免除阿根廷、澳洲、加拿大及墨西哥出口鋁製衍生產品的額外關稅。
https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20200126/00178_003.html
- 美國總統特朗普前天宣布本月十六日起，恢復對加拿大鋁材徵收百分之十的關稅，保護國內鋁業發展。加國政府強烈反彈，副總理方慧蘭隨即公布，將對進口的美國商品加徵關稅，總額與美方對等，但未公布詳情。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20200808/00180_004.html

canada

- city of hamilton is the steel town/capital of canada

EU
- https://www.ft.com/content/43bcf296-a827-11e6-8b69-02899e8bd9d1 The EU is ready to use punitive anti-dumping tariffs on imports — such as steel — after a UK-led blocking minority of countries opposed to the reforms collapsed. Germany and France — along with the European Commission — had argued for punitive tariffs. They said they were one of the few ways of protecting jobs in Europe’s steel sector, where 20 per cent of jobs have disappeared since 2008, according to the European industry’s main lobby group. Today the sector employs 320,000 people across the bloc. However, critics of the proposal argued that extra EU anti-dumping measures ran the risk of triggering retaliatory moves from Beijing, which will soon be treated as a “market economy” in trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation. Britain had argued vociferously against the proposal for years. However the position led to a political dispute in the UK in March when 15,000 jobs were put at risk following Tata Steel’s decision to sell its business in Britain, leading to calls for protectionist measures to help save jobs.

uk
- ft 6jul19 british steel rescue bid takes minister to india and china

• https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/15/turkish-bidder-for-british-steel-was-accused-of-corruption The Turkish pension fund poised to buy British Steel was accused of corruption by a parliamentary commission, and jointly owns a car plant where striking workers were allegedly mistreated. A subsidiary of Oyak, a £15bn pension scheme chaired by an army general, is on the verge of being named the government’s preferred bidder to take over British Steel, including the Scunthorpe steelworks where more than 4,000 people work. The Guardian asked Oyak, whose history goes back to the country’s 1960 military coup, about its involvement in a corruption scandal in 2012, when a Turkish parliamentary commission accused it of orchestrating land deals that cost the exchequer tens of millions of lira. In a 130-page report, the commission cited several deals, including one in which Oyak allegedly obtained construction permits to build a military barracks on government-owned land but instead built much more lucrative private residential apartments. The commission said that deals such as these had helped swell Oyak’s coffers during the late 1990s, at the expense of the Turkish treasury.Oyak, which bid for British Steel via its Ataer Holding subsidiary – which is the largest shareholder in Turkish steel firm Erdermir – declined to comment.
• https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50369413 Chinese firm Jingye says will invest £1.2bn in British Steel as it signed a deal to rescue the UK steelmaker.It also said it would seek to "preserve thousands of jobs in a key foundation industry for the UK" but did not put a number on how many would be saved.British Steel employs about 4,000 people in Scunthorpe and Teesside.It has been kept running by the government via the Official Receiver since May, when the company went into liquidation.Jingye said it anticipated making job offers "to as many employees across the business as possible".Group chairman Li Ganpo said it would spend £1.2bn over the next decade in upgrading plant and machinery, "improving the company's environmental performance... and boosting energy efficiency to place the operations on a more competitive and sustainable footing".It also said it would aim to identify new markets and products.

• The Chinese firm buying British Steel promised “a new chapter in British steelmaking” as it edged towards the rescue of a company that has been funded by the government since it plunged into insolvency 10 months ago. Jingye, run by a former Communist party official, expects to complete the takeover next week, despite lingering uncertainty over whether France will permit the sale of one of British Steel’s most profitable assets, the Hayange plant in north-east France. Jingye will pay approximately £70m and has agreed to invest £1.2bn to revive the business, whose £1m-a-day losses have been supported by a government indemnity since last May. About 3,200 staff have been offered contracts, while 400 learned this week that they will be made redundant if the sale closes as expected on Monday.The sale secures the immediate future of the Scunthorpe steelworks, one of the last two blast furnace operations in the UK steel industry. Jingye was founded 30 years ago by Li Ganpo, a former Communist party official who built the group from scratch in a corner of the Hebei province famed for the role it played in the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/03/british-steel-takeover-jingye-promises-new-chapter-for-industry

wales
- ft 3sep19 tata poised to shut south wales steelworks

italy
- ******ILVA was founded in Genoa on 1 February 1905, as Società Industria Laminati Piani e Affini (ILVA). Ilva derives from the Latin name of the island of Elba and where the iron ore was extracted which fed the first blast furnacesbuilt in Italy in the late XIX century. The deed of establishment of the ILVA, which took place in Genoa, dates back to 1 February 1905 from the merger of the iron and steel activities of the Elba groups (which operated in Portoferraio), Terni and the Bondi family, which had built a blast furnace in Piombino. The initial share capital of the limited company was 12 million lire and it included the Siderurgica company of Savona(controlled by the Terni company), the Ligure Metallurgica company and, directly, Terni itself. Subsequently it was added to the initial capital - bringing it to twenty million of lire - that of the Elba, whose entry came to complete the corporate structure. The base group Terni-Elba - active in the field of iron ore extraction especially on the island of Elba - was controlled by exponents of Genoese finance who intended to exploit the facilities planned with the law for the economic revival of Naples - launched in July 1904 - which provided for the installation by 1908 of a large integrated cycle plant in Bagnoli.Ilva was set up, with Italian government support, to build the Bagnoli steel plant, as part of the development projects of the South Italy, prepared by the deputy Francesco Saverio Nitti. The plant would have enjoyed facilities to buy iron ore at a low price and, at the same time, Italy set strong customs barriers against the competition of the most efficient foreign companies.In 1911 the company became part of the "Consorzio siderurgico" or "Consorzio Ilva", which also included the Altiforni di Piombino of the Bondi family, as well as the Elba company, the Siderurgica of Savona, the Ligure metallurgica and the Ferriere italiane, these can be connected at the Terni.After having vainly attempted to control the Società degli altiforni, fonderie e acciaierie di Terni, in 1918 the financier Massimo Bondi took control of Ilva, Siderurgica of Savona, Ligure metallurgica and Ferriere italiane, and incorporated them into his Altiforni di Piombino, whose name was changed to Ilva - Altiforni e acciaierie d'Italia.

• https://www.reuters.com/article/us-arcelormittal-ilva/italian-police-search-arcelormittal-offices-over-ilva-probe-idUSKBN1XT1EO Italian police are searching ArcelorMittal’s offices in Milan and the southern city of Taranto in an investigation into the troubled Ilva steel plant, which the company wants to hand back to the government, ArcelorMittal said in a statement.The company said it was providing the “information requested”. A police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Italian government filed an urgent court appeal on Friday to try to stop ArcelorMittal walking away from a 2018 deal to buy the heavily polluting Ilva plant, which employs some 8,200 workers in an area of high unemployment.

- economist 29feb2020 "down at heel" italy's troubled steel factory

india

- economist 1may2021 "white hot" the covid-ravaged economy's surprising bright spot

australia

- 懷阿拉Whyalla /waɪˈælə/ was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916.It is a seaport located on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula and is known as the "Steel City" due to its integrated steelworks and shipbuilding heritage. The port of Whyalla has been exporting iron ore since 1903.The origin of the name Whyalla is disputed. 

• ft 4may2021 gupta's spiritual home left on edge by crisis

japan
- Car, train and aircraft makers are investigating whether they have used any sub-standard materials made by Kobe Steel. The checks come after Japan's third largest steelmaker admitted falsifying quality data, possibly for as long as a decade. General Motors, Boeing and Toyota are among the firms checking their models. An internal investigation at Kobe Steel found 70 cases of data tampering at its Kobelco Research unit. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41585742

vietnam
- company

• Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation (Vietnamese: Công ty TNHH Gang Thép Hưng Nghiệp Formosa Hà Tĩnh, abbr. FHTS) is a steel plant established in the Vung Ang Economic Zone, Vietnam by the Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Company under the backing of the Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group.Development of the plant began in the 2010s. Steel production started in May 2017.台塑河靜鋼鐵興業責任有限公司），簡稱台塑河靜鋼鐵、台塑越鋼，是台塑集團創辦人王永慶在生前親自規劃及決策，也是台灣投資越南最大規模的投資案。此公司由台塑集團、中國鋼鐵及日本的JFE控股所合資。

• Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation was formed in 2008 to establish a large iron and steelmaking plant at a deepwater port in Vietnam. The primary investor and developer was Formosa Plastics Group of Taiwan.王永慶原本希望能在台灣建立從煉鋼到軋鋼的一貫作業鋼鐵廠，但在中華民國國內遭遇投資環境的不確定性後，轉而向越南政府提出申請。並於2008年6月，正式取得越南政府投資許可，確認落腳於越南河靜省永安經濟區。
•  In April 2016 a mass fish poisoning in the sea near off the Vietnam coast was initially blamed on the steel plant - analysis of the sea water showed high phosphate and pH levels; subsequently Vietnamese authorities stated no link had been shown between the plant and fish deaths.^[18] The plant was later ordered to dig up and modify a waste pipe to allow easier monitoring by Vietnamese authorities.In May 2016 the company was found to have systematically evaded taxes and claimed excess tax refunds through stating the wrong tax codes for imported equipment - VND1.55 trillion (US$69.2 million) in tax refunds and VND5.5 billion ($245.54 million) in taxes were required to be paid to the government.In late June 2016 a government report found Ha Tinh steel responsible for the 2016 fish poisoning incident. Formosa Ha Tinh Steel agreed to pay $500 million (11.5 trillion VND) compensation for the discharge, which contained phenol, cyanides and iron hydroxides. The company blamed the discharge on errors by subcontractors during a trial operation phase. A governmental report found the origin of the pollution to be from water from wet coke quenching, which was released into the sea after a power supply failure at the plant's waste treatment facilities.

- 越南向中國大陸和南韓的彩塗鋼產品徵收介乎2.53%及34.27%的反傾銷關稅。越南的生產商批評，海外競爭對手不公平定價，迫使他們要關閉生產線。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20191029/00178_008.html

China
- influence in government

• 在內地年底的人事調整中，山西省委副書記林武晉升為省長，他因此成為目前全國各省黨政首腦中唯一的「三非」官員，即非中央委員、非中央候補委員、非中紀委委員。目前地方省級高官中，有一位與林武淵源深厚，即貴州省委常委、秘書長劉捷，他也是政壇的一個標誌性人物，二○一六年十一月，劉捷當選江西省委常委，是全國第一位「七○後」省委常委，二○一八年跨省調赴貴州。劉捷曾是林武的老部下，二人履歷如出一轍。林武一九八二年畢業於江西冶金學院，而後在湖南湘潭鋼鐵公司工作二十餘年，一路升遷至總經理。而劉捷一九九二年自北京鋼鐵學院畢業後，長期在林武直接領導下。兩人均先在湘鋼第一煉鋼廠、第二煉鋼廠工作，而後都依次晉升集團副總經理、總經理。中國政壇還有眾多出身鋼鐵行業的官員，就以林武所在的山西為例，剛剛卸任的山西省委書記駱惠寧，曾在馬鞍山鋼鐵公司工作；現任山西省政協副主席兼太原市市長李曉波，此前擔任太原鋼鐵集團董事長。此外，重慶市政協主席王炯，曾任武漢鋼鐵黨委書記；湖北省委副書記兼武漢市委書記馬國強，歷任寶鋼副總經理、武鋼董事長，兩大巨頭合併後又出任寶武鋼鐵集團董事長；而原寶鋼董事長徐樂江則在合併後晉升中央統戰部副部長兼全國工商聯黨組書記。鋼鐵有「工業的糧食」之稱，是基礎性重工業，在計劃經濟時代，中國甚至曾一度提出了「以鋼為綱」的極端方針，所謂「五年超英，七年趕美」，也是以鋼作為指標。而在改革開放之初的幹部斷層期，作為專業技術人才的鋼鐵企業幹部，又成為「工程師治國」的重要組成部分。這是鋼鐵幹部受青睞的歷史背景，其「政治產能」不亞於石油、電力，譬如，劉捷就讀的北京鋼鐵學院，就曾湧現了中央政治局常委羅幹、北京市委書記劉淇、全國政協副主席徐匡迪等高官。然而，時過境遷，如今的鋼鐵成為壓縮過剩產能的沉重包袱，鋼企高官的數量和級別，已是大不如昔。相反，由於各地鋼企都是當地的支柱企業，財大氣粗，在政商各界盤根錯節，「鋼鐵系」成為反腐重災區。比如被中紀委查辦的落台高官中，原甘肅省委常委、蘭州市委書記虞海燕，曾任酒泉鋼鐵集團董事長；原山西省委常委、太原市委書記陳川平曾任太原鋼鐵集團董事長；原上海市委常委、副市長艾寶俊，曾任寶鋼副總經理。還有一些官員在權力洗牌中被貶謫發配或投閒置散，如原共青團中央第一書記秦宜智，當年由攀枝花鋼鐵集團成都無縫鋼管公司總經理直升攀枝花市市長，自此青雲直上，本被視為明日之星，而今已貶為質檢總局副局長。原河北省委常委、石家莊市委書記孫瑞彬，曾任邯鄲鋼鐵第三廠黨委書記、重慶特鋼副總經理，也被提前退居二線，擔任政協副主席。十年河東，十年河西，鋼鐵、石油、電力式微，航天、兵器等行業崛起為政壇新勢力。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20191213/00184_010.html

- impact of abolishing tax rebate on steel imports for value added processes http://www.hkcd.com.hk/pdf/201610/1015/HA02A15CLEA.pdf
- https://www.ft.com/content/dfa122b8-6f95-11e8-92d3-6c13e5c92914 Chinese companies have invested billions of dollars in planned steel and coal projects as they chase new markets by shifting production to south-east Asia. In the past four years, Chinese steel companies have funded 32m tonnes of annual capacity in new steel projects in Indonesia and Malaysia, according to a Financial Times calculation, equivalent to more than 40 per cent of steel consumption in 2016 by the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states. Steel has been a contentious commodity as trade tensions flare between Washington and Beijing, with the US imposing global steel tariffs targeted towards what it perceives as cheap Chinese steel flooding global markets. That, coupled with strong domestic demand last year has led to China to reduce its steel exports. Instead, Chinese producers are moving existing production capacity and investing in plants abroad, predominantly in south-east Asia, to produce and sell in fast-growing markets without the threat of tariffs. Fast-rising incomes in south-east Asia have meant a boom in car production and construction — both steel-intensive industries. Indonesia and Malaysia still import more than half the steel they consume each year.
- Hilong Holding, the world’s second largest supplier of steel pipes used in oil and gas drilling experienced in adapting to US tariffs by turning exports to leasing, says diversification is key to dealing with the US-China trade war. Drill pipes, which connect the surface drilling equipment to the drill bit, are made with so-called seamless steel that does not have a weld-joint thanks to a unique production method. They must be strong enough to withstand pressure differences inside and outside the tube and to transfer drilling torque thousands of metres down into the Earth’s crust. The global market, worth around US$1 billion a year, is dominated by four players led by a US firm.“Hilong has been subject to US anti-dumping duties on Chinese seamless steel pipes since 2009, so it has not been a major market for us for a while,” said Tang Qiyan, senior assistant to the chairman. “In recent years we have changed most of our US business from sales to leasing.”https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3010378/how-chinese-company-targeted-us-tariffs-last-10-years-has
- 中國商務部早前裁定原產於歐盟、日本、南韓及印尼的進口不銹鋼鋼坯及熱軋板／卷存在傾銷，令國內產業受到實質損害。當局周一宣布，將於周二對上述產品徵收18.1%至103.1%不等的反傾銷稅，為期五年。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190723/00178_012.html
- 中國商務部昨天決定，對美國和歐盟進口無縫鋼管徵收反傾銷稅。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20200510/00180_008.html

- 中國寶武鋼鐵集團有限公司與山西省國有資本運營有限公司（以下簡稱山西國資運營公司）21日簽署無償劃轉協議，山西國資運營公司將太原鋼鐵（集團）有限公司51%股權無償劃轉給中國寶武。中國寶武戰略規劃明確提出，要以「成為全球鋼鐵業引領者」為願景，努力打造「億噸寶武」。此次與太鋼集團的聯合重組，增強中國寶武在不鏽鋼領域的綜合競爭力。中國寶武由原寶鋼集團有限公司和武漢鋼鐵（集團）公司聯合重組而成，於2016年12月成立，是國有資本投資公司試點企業。2019年，中國寶武繼續保持行業領先地位，實現鋼產量9546萬噸，營業總收入5522億元，利潤總額345.3億元。太鋼集團是集鐵礦採掘和鋼鐵生產、加工、配送、貿易為一體的特大型鋼鐵聯合企業，也是全球不鏽鋼行業領軍企業，具備年產1294萬噸鋼（其中450萬噸不鏽鋼）的生產能力。http://hk.hkcd.com/pdf/202008/0822/HA06822CZGG_HKCD.pdf
- 工信部新聞發言人黃利斌周二表示，將會從4方面壓減鋼鐵產能，包括加強嚴禁新增鋼鐵產能的工作，對確有必要建設的鋼鐵冶煉項目，需要嚴格執行產能置換的政策；推進鋼鐵行業的兼併重組，提高行業集中度，解決行業長期存在的同質化競爭嚴重，資源配置不合理等問題。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/finance/20210127/00202_017.html

taiwan
- 台灣民營企業世紀鋼鐵結構股份有限公司（下稱世紀鋼）早前表明，要在台北港建設世界級的離岸風電水下基礎生產基地，惟台媒近日報道指，工程進度嚴重滯後。世紀鋼昨日則發聲明，反駁報道不實。台媒記者今年六月派人到現場查看時，發現一期廠房內仍「空蕩蕩」，且沒有趕工迹象，而一期廠房旁邊的新廠房更只有鋼骨結構，興建進度不到三成。另報道稱，世紀鋼早年成立子公司世紀風電後，曾與丹麥風電開發商、哥本哈根基礎建設基金（CIP）簽下總值一百六十五億元新台幣（約四十四億港元）合約；業界擔心有關方面會待限期臨近才要求開放向外國採購部分成品或半成品。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20200810/00178_004.html
-台灣的財政部與經濟部日前對大陸進口的特定鋁箔進行反傾銷調查，初步調查結果昨日出爐，認定有關廠商有傾銷事實，並對台灣的產業造成實質損害。台當局強調，為避免台產業在後續調查期間繼續受損，決定從下周一起，對相關廠商徵收19.86%至32.36%的臨時反傾銷稅，為期4個月。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20210219/00178_021.html

hk
- 香港大學機械工程系教授黃明欣領導的團隊三年前發明「超級鋼」，上周五與美國柏克萊國家實驗室合作發表研究報告，確認「超級鋼」強度、延展性及韌性較航天鋼材更佳，目前沒有任何鋼材物料能及。「超級鋼」正申請多國專利，團隊計劃下一步將跟汽車及橋樑纜索公司合作，有望把研發成果工業化和商品化。
https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20200513/00176_048.html, https://innotech.hku.hk/huang-mingxin/

- 經國 家科技部批准，國家鋼結構工程技術研究中心香港分中心 於2015年在香港理工大學成立，成為本港6個國家級科研 中心之一。今年2月現場裝配完成的將軍澳跨灣連接路雙拱 鋼橋，就是由該中心鋼結構專家把關，中心主任鍾國輝教 授表明： 「（鋼材鋼構質量）香港認可的，世界各地都有 信心接受。」 助力國產優質鋼材鋼構走向國際，是香港可 以發揮的優勢之一，中心也致力於此。http://hk.hkcd.com/pdf/202105/0503/%E9%A6%99_A_04%E7%89%88-_-HA04503CLBA_HKCD.pdf

Association

- World Steel Association https://www.worldsteel.org/
- oecd steel committee

• Taiwan says its delegation was ejected from a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's steel committee after China complained, part of an apparent hardening of Beijing's attitude toward the island it claims as its own territory. Taiwan is only an observer rather than a member of the OECD due to China's campaign to isolate it diplomatically. It was participating as a dialogue partner in the meeting held Monday in Belgium to discuss excess steel capacity. However, the Chinese delegation demanded the Taiwanese leave because the delegates' ranks were not senior enough, Taiwan's official Central News Agency said Tuesday. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/taiwan-protests-ejection-oecd-steel-talks-blames-china-38501846

people
- Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, union-buster, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company cokemanufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel manufacturing concern. He also financed the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company,^{[citation needed]} and had extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He later built the historic neoclassical Frick Mansion (now a landmark building in Manhattan), and upon his death donated his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the celebrated Frick Collection and art museum. However, as a founding member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, he was also in large part responsible for the alterations to the South Fork Dam that caused its failure, leading to the catastrophic Johnstown Flood. His vehement opposition to unions also caused violent conflict, most notably in the Homestead Strike.



History
- The Schuman Declaration is the statement laid forward by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950. Inspired and for the most part drafted by Jean Monnet, this was a proposal to place Franco-German production of coal and steel under one common High Authority. This organization would be open to participation to other European countries. This cooperation was to be designed in such a way as to create common interests between European countries which would lead to gradual political integration, a condition for the pacification of relations between them: “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity. The coming together of the nations of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany”.

Event
- global forum on steel excess capacity

• https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3034753/global-steel-forum-scrapped-china-says-it-has-done-more-its An international forum aimed at slashing excess steel production has been scrapped, after China said it had done enough to reduce global capacity.The last meeting, in Tokyo, of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity failed to produce any major agreements from the participating countries, with China calling for the organisation to be dissolved.China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday evening that China had made “the greatest and most outstanding” contribution to global efforts to reduce excessive steel capacity as it was the only country that had imposed a mandatory target upon itself.

- Global Steel http://www.globalsteel.in/Index.html
- China International Steel Congress http://www.steelcongress.com/en/
- CRU World Steel Conference http://www.crugroup.com/events/steel/