The interview took place at a time when low-carbon steel solutions are increasingly entering procurement strategies across construction and industrial supply chains, driven by corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets, emerging sustainable finance mechanisms, and regulatory discussions linked to global trade frameworks such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

XCarb is ArcelorMittal’s global brand for low-carbon steel products. The initiative covers steel produced with significantly reduced CO2 emissions through a combination of scrap-based production routes, renewable energy use, and process optimization.

Alongside this backdrop, Negresiolo said ArcelorMittal is simultaneously working to reshape its long steel portfolio in Brazil, focusing on industrialized construction solutions, higher value-added products, and increased domestic production of profiles, including new capacity at its Barra Mansa unit in Rio de Janeiro state, which operates electric-arc furnace (EAF) technology.

In 2022, ArcelorMittal announced a R$ 1.3 billion ($250.7 million) investment to modernize and expand its Barra Mansa long steel plant. Completed in early 2026, the project doubled crude steel capacity and added a new rolling mill, increasing output by around 400,000-500,000 tonnes per year.

The broader strategy comes amid a construction environment defined by high interest rates and a stronger push for efficiency, where execution time and labor intensity are becoming as relevant as raw material costs in project economics.

According to Negresiolo, trade protection and import competition remain a structural pressure point. He highlighted a gradual expansion of trade defense measures across long products in Brazil, as domestic industry players — including ArcelorMittal — actively support technical assessments of what they consider unfair competition. That said, the CEO did not rule out the possibility of anti-dumping measures on imported rebar, in addition to the ongoing investigation into wire rod.

Negresiolo’s answers to Fastmarkets’ questions are below:

Fastmarkets: I wanted to talk about green steel and XCarb particularly. What has the market response to solutions like XCarb been? Is it real, is it tangible, or are we still very early in this?
Negresiolo: We need to separate two things. The level of acceptance for low-carbon products is tangible. It exists, there is interest both from our customers in having a supply strategy with the lowest possible carbon emissions, and also from the perspective of image building, environmental responsibility, etc.

And there are also some initiatives we see in the financial system, with possibilities of financing for projects, for example, with some benefits, either in terms of financing costs or in the disbursement model, linked to the use of lower-carbon materials. Still quite incipient.

So demand exists, and most companies want to work with XCarb, but the problem is that nobody wants to pay a premium.

Fastmarkets: That was the point of my question: does anyone already pay a premium for products like XCarb in Brazil?
Negresiolo: There is still no trend of willingness to pay. There is still a difficulty, to be very transparent, in the market recognizing the value, the value delivered by a decarbonized product — everything behind it, the development, the use of renewable energy. There is still resistance or a lack of financial perception of a premium for this type of product. And that is a complication.

Because, at the end of the day, we need to be compensated for what is being done.

Fastmarkets: So what is missing in the market? Is that maturity?
Negresiolo: I’m not sure ‘maturity’ is the word. I think everything is still new. Brazil is still working through all of this. You see other regions, for example EU with the implementation of CBAM, so there is a lot of discussion happening worldwide.

Some countries more, some less. So it also depends heavily on the regulatory environment, and also on how much our clients’ products are recognized by the end consumer for using lower-carbon raw materials. It’s all still very new.

Personally, I believe we will reach a level where there is additional value recognition for this product line, and that is why we continue to invest, produce, develop, and support it.

Fastmarkets: How are you working to stimulate this conversation? Is ArcelorMittal participating to make the market more aware that this type of product exists?
Negresiolo: We have been working both in academia and elsewhere. We have, for more than 10 years, a very important partnership with the University of São Paulo — a chair focused on the development of products for construction. XCarb also has part of its development done within this chair.

Another example related to the environmental agenda is CA-70 rebar, which has 40% higher mechanical strength. And another way to reduce emissions is to ‘dematerialize’ construction — if you use fewer inputs to build the same building, you are also reducing carbon emissions.

So what we have been doing is working in academia, interacting with regulatory environments, and a lot with our customers — offering, explaining, bringing our engineering team, our product development team, showing and demonstrating.

There is a large effort in communication, regulation, and direct engagement by our teams, both sales and engineering, to bring this to customers so they become familiar with it.

Fastmarkets: My question now is more about the product mix. I wanted to understand how ArcelorMittal is managing this in longs, especially between rebar, wire rod, and higher value-added solutions given the current cycle of the Brazilian market. How is the product mix evolving?
Negresiolo: What makes the most sense to sell today? This is… well, it’s several questions in one, but first, construction globally and in Brazil is undergoing industrialization and a much stronger focus on efficiency and time.

In Brazil, given today’s cost of capital, construction time can be the difference between a profitable or unprofitable project for developers and builders. So what we have been doing first is developing solutions and products that facilitate, accelerate, and bring industrialization into construction sites.

This means moving away from selling rebar in bulk bars, and instead offering everything from cut-and-bent material to cut, bent, assembled, welded material delivered just-in-time for deck concreting. And for foundations, with permanent formwork. That’s one example.

Another point, outside construction but still related, is product mix. We recently made a major investment in our Barra Mansa unit, a new rolling mill that allows us to produce a wider mix of products, mainly profiles — W beams, I beams, angles, U beams, and so on. Part of these products we were previously constrained in producing, and part we did not produce in Brazil at all, importing them from our units abroad to complete the mix.

Now we produce them in Brazil — made in Brazil. This complements our product mix not only for construction but also for industry.

And third, solutions, engineering solutions. We have an engineering team and have been investing, including in startups in the construction ecosystem, to provide customers not only material but full solutions for construction and industry.

What sells best? We sell everything. We are leaders in Brazil — 42% of steel [both longs and flats] produced in the country is produced by ArcelorMittal. As leaders, the goal is simple: the more, the better.

Fastmarkets: Just a friendly question: what is the level of pressure from imports in your business right now? What is the situation?
Negresiolo: Let’s separate things. Why do longs currently have fewer trade defense measures than flats? Because longs historically have a lower import volume than flats. And in Brazil, all discussions are based on technical criteria. Among those criteria are historical import volumes, growth rates, and other indicators.

Why did flats receive more measures initially? Because historically volumes are higher and import growth in flats over recent years was also higher than in other segments. That said, we have also had several measures in longs. We already have several products under tariff quota systems, tariff increases to 25%, some with quotas and some without.

We have an ongoing anti-dumping investigation on wire rod, where the government has already confirmed injury and preliminary dumping evidence. So we are optimistic that in the coming months an anti-dumping duty on wire rod will be implemented. In addition, we are working with the government on several other products.

So we are seeing an increase in measures, and we expect this to continue. But it is still not enough — neither in longs nor in flats.

Regarding import volumes, we saw strong growth last year, especially in the first half. This year, both longs and flats saw a decline compared to the same period last year. But imports remain a major challenge for the domestic steel industry. We continue to seek a level playing field — not protection, but fair competition.

The numbers are the numbers: there was a decline in the first half of this year compared to last year, including in longs. Is it enough? No. Should measures be increased? Yes. And we are working on that and expect more measures in longs as well.

(According to Banco Safra’s analysis of industry data, Brazil’s long steel imports dropped by 35% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.)

Fastmarkets: So does that mean anti-dumping measures on rebar coming soon?
Negresiolo: Potentially. We apply technical criteria. If rebar meets those criteria, an anti-dumping case will be requested.

From: Nina Gattis, 4 SEPT 2026, Fastmarkets, https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/brazil-steel-transition-advances-but-prices-fail-to-reflect-value-and-trade-protection-gaps-remain-arcelormittal-longs-ceo-says-exclusive/.