The Milan Court of Appeal rejected suspension of a ruling requiring hot-end shutdown at the former Ilva steelworks in Taranto by end-October. Acciaierie d’Italia will begin cooling blast furnaces from September sixteenth. Assofermet expressed deep concern about impacts on Italy’s steel supply chain. The association warned of structural capacity reduction and increased import reliance. New European Union safeguards have reduced import quotas and raised out-of-quota duties to fifty percent. Assofermet called on the Italian government to find a long-term solution balancing environmental protection, employment, and steel production continuity.