US protectionist policies on steel imports could affect global trade flows and affect Europe. The market situation is likely to change in the near future, warns ArcelorMittal Spain ceo Jose Manuel Arias in the company`s annual sustainability report for 2016 monitored by Kallanish.

“The defence of the steel industry continues to be important in the face of abusive imports of steel that can break the welfare system in which so many economic resources, both time and human, have been deployed," Arias says. He adds that the market is showing a more favourable situation, "… but steel imports in Europe are still high, although the origin is changing in part because of the anti-dumping measures adopted by the EU.” Chinese imports have declined, but increased from other countries, such as Turkey, Arias notes.

According to the sustainability report, ArcelorMittal has invested €128 million ($145.3m) to improve the competitiveness of its Spanish plants. This is 21.8% more than investment made in the previous year.

ArcelorMittal operates 11 steel mills and has 17 distribution centres in Spain. The group’s Spanish crude steel production was 5.7 million tonnes in 2016, representing 41.9% of total national output.