Posted on 02 Oct 2025
The proposed idea for an Asean Council on Steel is being looked at favourably by industry players, particularly the Malaysian Iron & Steel Industry Federation (Misif).
The idea was recently announced by Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong after meeting policymakers from Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar this week.
Misif president Roshan M. Abdullah said the initiative reflects the recognition the industry faces, whether from overcapacity, trade remedies, decarbonisation, or the need to ensure high-quality steel standards for construction common to Asean nations.
Roshan told StarBiz that the steel industries of the respective countries would still need to seek formal agreements from their governments before moving forward.
“If established, the Asean Council on Steel would provide a structured platform for governments in the region to engage in meaningful dialogue on shared issues such as capacity management, trade challenges, decarbonisation, technology transfer, and skills development among the region,” he said.
He said this would complement existing engagements at industry levels through the South East Asia Iron & Steel Institute, while fostering stronger regional collaboration.
Liew had earlier said while associations across the region speak to each other, governments do not, with discussions on decarbonisation, safety standards, trade remedies and capacity management needing more regional collaboration.
Roshan noted that from a domestic perspective, steel players acknowledged the importance of supporting decarbonisation and aligning with national and regional sustainability goals.
He pointed out that policies tailored to these issues must also consider the specific challenges faced by the industry and strike a careful balance between environmental objectives, economic growth and industry competitiveness.
“At this stage, we see steel capacity management and trade remedies as key initiatives to support and accelerate decarbonisation within the domestic steel industry,” Roshan said.
Furthermore, he said as the industry jointly undergoes this transformation, challenges must be tackled on multiple fronts.
“The immediate priority for Misif is to tackle overcapacity and predatory imports, increase localisation content, and improve capacity utilisation rates of domestic producers to a minimum of 80%,” he said.
He explained all these will immediately improve the competitiveness of Malaysian producers, and most of all, ensure a level playing field for the industry.
Meanwhile, Southern Steel Bhd group managing director Yeoh Choon Kwee told StarBiz severe overcapacity leading to adverse price competition remains one of the biggest challenges.
On a separate note, he fully supports the new Steel Industry Roadmap 2035 unveiled on Monday by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said it was heartening to know the roadmap seeks to “reset the trajectory” to bring steel mills back to profitability.
“Some of the measures I find most helpful are to maintain the moratorium for upstream until utilisation is up to 80%, the commitment to protect domestic industry from unfair trade practices like anti-dumping and safeguard measures while enforcing the closure of unlicensed mills and factories that produce substandard or unsafe materials and the enforcement of illegal scrap export.”
Liew, in regards to the trade war, believes the United States would likely pursue steel nationalism, and this policy would have repercussions globally.
“There will be second order effects. When Asian steelmakers are meant to export their goods into the United States now cannot, this existing capacity will cramp in Asia. This can result in a price war,” Liew explained.
He added the proposed council would look to mitigate this as well.
Source:The Star
