Although Brazil has one of the largest reserves of iron ore in the world, estimated at 170 billion tons, and also steel mills near the iron mines, such as Usiminas, e.g., Brazil exports iron ore and imports (semi-)finished steel products from other countries, such as Japan and China. The objective of this research is to model the global value chain of iron and steel and to analyse its structural dynamics to verify if this model is able to determine the factors that drive the generation of value and that have led some countries to have greater impact on their economic development than others. Value chain modelling uses the standard mass balance input-output analysis technique (Leontief's extended structural modelling method), detailed in the literature review. To obtain these results, it was necessary to collect and consolidate different databases using tools able to reconcile, treat and analyse the large volume of data present in these different databases, in different units and levels of aggregation. The analysis of the structural dynamics revealed a series of fundamental aspects to understand the commercial war between the USA and China. China has shifted from 10% of the world's crude steel production to 50% in 20 years, reducing the relevance of other countries in the context of the iron and steel chain. In addition, the analysis revealed that Brazil exports almost exclusively crude iron ore. Australia, for example, was able to add more value than Brazil. This reveals, therefore, that the analysis of the structural dynamics modelled by hyper-graphs can generate relevant semantic information about the context, actors and interests involved and can serve as a map to guide decisions and policies aimed at a better insertion and performance of a country in a global value chain.
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