The structure of steel exports

Abstract

This paper examines changes in the steel-related export structure of the ten largest steelmaking economies between 2004 and 2014, in terms of the steel products exported and the market destination for those exports. To shed light on how exporters' patterns of specialisation have changed in the period since 2004, indices of "Revealed Comparative Advantage" (RCA) are developed for a number of low, medium and high value-added steel products, indicating that export specialisation patterns may be changing noticeably as some steel producers in emerging economies move up the value chain and begin exporting more sophisticated steel products. The paper also assesses the role of innovation, as measured by patents, in determining the export structure of countries, and finds a positive correlation between innovation activity and export specialisation in higher value-added steel segments.

China’s trade competitiveness in the steel industry after 15 years of its membership in the WTO

“…This corresponds with the fact that the competitiveness of the Chinese steel export is higher in the «Articles of Iron and Steel» than in «Iron and Steel». As A. Carvalho and N. Sekiguchi state, as steel producers in some emerging economies move up the value chain, they will begin exporting more sophisticated steel products [2]. This is also the case of China.…”

“…However, the results of the author's own analysis show that the competitiveness of the Chinese steel exports is different in the individual products and over time. The previous research carried out by Carvalho and Sekiguchi (2015) [2] [18].…”