The committee, which wrapped up its annual March meeting on Tuesday, said the gap between production and capacity grew to 625.4 million metric tons last year, with more projects backed by governments and premised on rising future demand on the horizon. 

“Several of these investments are cross-border in nature. This creates a significant risk of exacerbating the excess capacity situation, and raises the likelihood of supply further overshooting the true needs of the market,” the committee said. 

At the same time, steelmakers are continuing to feel the economic effects of the pandemic, the committee said. 

“Global steel demand is expected to recover only partially in the near term, with the level of finished steel demand in 2021 expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels in most jurisdictions,” the committee said.