According to the OECD, global steel exports, with the exception of countries within the EU and ASEAN countries. Trade volume fell by 6.2 percent in 2025 to 321.2 million tons, while China's exports increased by 13.8 percent to 131.2 million tons, with the country's steel exports more than doubling over the 2019-25 period.
The organization said that China's share of global steel exports increased from 19 percent in 2019 to 41 percent. The OECD noted that the growth in Chinese exports was not accompanied by a comparable increase in the value of exports, as the value of a unit of exports fell sharply, while a similar pattern was observed in ASEAN, where the growth in the value of exports also lagged behind volume growth.
OECD exporters are losing ground in global steel markets
The OECD said that OECD steel producing countries have lost ground In the global steel trade, with European exports falling 53 percent from 2019 levels to 50 million tons in 2025, including a 19 percent year-on-year decline in 2025 alone.
North American steel exports fell to 14 million tons in 2025, down 20 percent from 2019, while exports from South America dropped to 12 million tons, representing an 18 percent decrease from 2019.
According to the report, the share of steel exported as a whole declined outside of China, with Europe exporting 26 percent of its output in 2025, compared with 47 percent in 2025. In 2019, the share of exports in Asian countries, excluding China, fell from 42 percent at the beginning of the decade to 30 percent in 2025.
The OECD also stated that steel imports changed significantly in 2025, with imports in North America falling by 15.8 percent amid more active trade actions, while sharp declines were also recorded in Asia and the Middle East. However, imports increased in Europe, especially in the EU-UK market, where semi-finished steel products that are not subject to protective measures accounted for almost half of the increase.
Steel prices vary
