The Steel Committee’s Programme of Work and Budget (PWB) for 2024-2025 has prioritised robust analytical studies on the impact of subsidies on the emissions of steel firms and on the competitiveness of international steel industries. Special thanks are thus extended to all Steel Committee members for their unwavering interest in the Secretariat’s analysis of subsidies to the steel sector, and for their persistence in advancing this work despite the challenges posed by often opaque, incomplete, and hard-to-obtain data.
This project was executed in close collaboration with the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD) and benefited significantly from the development of the Manufacturing Groups and Industrial Corporations (MAGIC) database. The expertise of TAD colleagues in estimating below-market borrowings – loans provided to steel firms on more favorable terms than a competitive market would allow – was invaluable. We especially thank Yuki Matsumoto and Jehan Sauvage for those contributions.
The study was designed, conducted and drafted by Fabien Mercier of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), with significant data input from Jehan Sauvage (TAD), Luciano Guia (STI), and Hélène Dernis (STI). Additional colleagues who provided feedback to this study include Antoine Dechezleprêtre, Guy Lalanne, Anthony de Carvalho, Stephan Raes, Jens Lundsgaard and Jerry Sheehan of STI. Their valuable comments, guidance, and careful review of earlier versions of the paper, along with their sustained interest, were instrumental.