Company: MT
Filing Date: 2025-08-01
Form Type: 6-K
Source: 0001243429-25-000067
Chunk: 3

Company: ArcelorMittal
Filing Date: 2025-08-01
Form: 6-K
Chunk 3
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 during the second quarter of 2025, including Canada, Mexico, the European Union ("EU"), and Asia Pacific especially China. In addition to "reciprocal" tariffs, product-based tariffs such as 50% on steel and aluminum and 25% on automotive and parts, added another layer of complication. Elevated uncertainty added downside risk to steel demand due to its negative impact on business investment as businesses were pushed into ‘wait-and-see’ mode and have postponed capital expenditures.

The European market significantly impacts the Company's prospects and economic growth in that market has stagnated over the past 18 months. In addition, the lagged impact of the prior elevated interest rates hikes through 2023 in developed markets, most notably in the United States (the "U.S.") and the EU, has kept underlying growth at weaker levels in manufacturing and real estate that drive steel demand, particularly in interest rate sensitive sectors such as automotive and construction.

As a result, during the first half of 2025, steel demand remained weak. The high degree of uncertainty caused by U.S. trade policy, in addition to the 25% U.S. tariffs on European auto exports, negatively impacted real demand. Lackluster real steel demand, coupled with the high degree of uncertainty, is anticipated to continue throughout 2025, resulting in limited restocking and additional weight on apparent steel demand. While interest rates in the EU have been cut and were much lower than in the U.S. at the end of the first half of 2025, the positive impact of lower interest rates on steel demand is only expected to be seen at the end of 2025 and into 2026 (i.e., a lag of 6 to 9 months). In the U.S., while the impact of tariffs was limited in the first half of 2025 due to front-loading activity and re-routing, the impact is expected to intensify in the second half of 2025. Real demand is likely to weaken due to inflationary pressure of higher import prices, which may keep interest rates at the current elevated levels of 4.25%-4.5% for much of the second half of 2025. Coupled with policy uncertainty dampening inventory restocking, apparent steel demand in the U.S. is expected to be weaker than previously anticipated.

While apparent steel demand in both the U.S. and EU markets remained weak in the first half of 2025 due to lackluster real

demand and uncertainty impacting inventory restocking, prices and spreads