Luis Martinez : Hello, Marcio. This is Martinez and then I will give the floor to Benjamin. Speaking about the U.S., we have no intention of putting the company in greater deleverage. Leverage is in order, and we comply with orders here we don’t question them that issue of delevering as goal number one for the company. On the other hand, in the U.S., luckily, we have complied with the quotas that we have there. They are not minor quotas. We would like to have others. We’re fighting for higher quotas in tin plates. The quote is 10,000 tons per year. The American market today lacks the supply of tin plate because of the closure of some plants. Now in terms of galvanizing pre-painted products, we’re working towards making our portfolio more attractive for the client work spot.
We want to be a true local player. So today, we’re looking at investments that are relatively of low cost, high return service centers were instead of selling the coil. We can sell the materials and sell lower portions galvanized steel. Something that a payer would do in the American market. In the U.S., the initial appetite now would be to consolidate the quotas we have and have a better walking into this quota to get more value from the portfolio. That is for the United States. Benjamin. I don’t know if you would like to add something.
Benjamin Steinbruch : I would like to say regarding the U.S.A. that perhaps is different from what it is from investments in Brazil, where mandatorily, we have to respect the leverage and not surpass our commitment in the United States and Europe. Something different is happening. They are more advance than we are in terms of decarbonizing and clean energy as part of the plan of 1,050 [ph] trillion of the Biden government. Well, we went after this and perceive. They have just in BRL 150 billion for investments that contemplate decarbonizing and clean energy, which is something completely atypical to speak about investments with subsidized interest rates in Brazil. This doesn’t exist. Now to speak about these investments, this is difficult to explain for Brazil, these lots on the what’s happening in the U.S.A. and Europe in capital-intensive industries with the potential of enhancing their performance environmentally.
So in the U.S., we are structuring investments. We want to make the most of this opportunity that the government is offering industries that want to invest in decarbonizing and clean energy. We knew that it existed in Europe. We saw decent proof receiving €2.5 million to go on to an electric furnace instead of a high furnace. SAB received BRL 3 billion, while the government gave 30 billion as a loss fund to the industry. In the U.S., it is BRL 150 billion. We’re trying to fit into that and do something impactful because there is the financing lines at lower interest rates. We’re incredibly interested in investments, especially in the U.S.A., contemplating these funding lines, we do not have in Brazil. We had a long steel project for the U.S.A. We’re going to eventually move this to flat steel and do something here as far as long as it is part of that program that exists in the U.S.A. So we’re devoting a great deal of time seeking alternatives for investments in the U.S.A., because of the effect of capital, they are self-justified.
Now this is a priority that we have when it comes to investments in activities that are similar to those we have in Brazil.
Marcio Farid : Well, thank you. If you could speak about CapEx, P15, and the moment of the steel plant. Thank you.
Benjamin Steinbruch : Who is going to speak Marco?
Antonio Marco Campos Rabello : I can do that Benjamin.
Benjamin Steinbruch : Very well, you can do so. Thank you.
Antonio Marco Campos Rabello : Marcio, thank you for the question. The CapEx, as we mentioned during the presentation, we do have a challenge of values that are above those of last year to invest in 2024. There is seasonality in CapEx connected to the way that CSN approved and is versus CapEx, half was invested in the fourth quarter last year, and it is higher than the same quarter of the previous year, showing that quarter-on-quarter, we will invest more. Regarding the CapEx for the year, we can see that this is feasible to reach the goal until the end of the year. Another way to disemburse CapEx is to work on the company’s cash management to accompany the company’s results during the year, cash generation or make adjustments in CapEx. But what was announced for the company as a trend for the year will be maintained.
If a novelty should arise, we will, of course, announce it in a timely fashion. Well, thank you. And about the steel mill, a question you asked, looking at 2024 in the longer-term, the investments in UPV last year represented the highest in the last eight years. This year, we’re going to make the same investment, a record investment in UPV somewhat higher than the previous year. And of course, getting the positive results of all of the investments made so far. Now these investments, along with the discussion of raw material shows the effect will be more concentrated in the second half of the year. But month after month, we look at the results of these investments already made.
