The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC)

has sanctioned

the steel

companies ArcelorMittal, Balboa and Sidenor with

24 million euros

for having

agreed on the prices

they offered to scrap suppliers, communicating the

stops of their activity

and

sharing the prices of third parties

with whom they compete in this market.

The CNMC considers that these three steel companies have committed

"two very serious infringements"

of competition practices after carrying out an investigation that began

in November 2018

.

The intervention of the CNMC took place after the European Commission became aware through an anonymous complaint about competitive irregularities in the steel sector in Spain.

During the procedure

, 14 different companies were investigated

with inspections carried out in November 2018 and March 2020.

On July 20, 2020, the CNMC announced the start of a disciplinary proceeding

, having detected that several companies were agreeing on the future price of the scrap that is the raw material of its activity. In addition, indications were also found about irregularities in the commercialization of "long products".

The CNMC considers

it "proven" that ArcelorMittal, AG Siderúrgica Balboa and Sidenor Aceros Especiales

"exchanged

commercially sensitive information"

.

An irregular agreement that allowed them to "align their behavior" and guarantee the "scrap supply without submitting to market discipline."

The three areas for the agreement were, according to the CNMC investigation, sharing the prices that they were going to offer their scrap suppliers, sharing when they were going to stop their production to condition the demand for scrap, and communicating sales prices of steel products from other competitors.

The sanction of the CNMC against these three steel groups occurs when the sector is going through an

extreme situation due to the increase in the price of electricity

.

ArcelorMittal stopped production at its

Olaberria plant

last week and has delayed the reactivation of its activity at the Sestao factory, which was scheduled for today, March 14.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

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