The EU steel market began 2018 on a relatively strong footing, supported by the ongoing economic recovery and because of improved business conditions in steel-using sectors. However, imports continued to increase from already high levels in 2017. Over the forecast period 2018-2019 steel demand is expected to flatten as the growth of final steel use slows down to a more sustainable rate of  expansion. The recent rise in protectionist trade measures is deepening uncertainty and could result in the market situation diverging from the base-case scenario.