Global steel giant ArcelorMittal said Wednesday that a legal issue which could have forced it to pull out of a plant in Italy had been resolved after the government changed the law.
The Italian parliament had in June revoked a period of legal immunity initially given to the company to allow it to bring the plant up to environmental standards, saying it would instead expire on September 6. Wednesday's new decree law reverses that decision, essentially reinstating the immunity.
ArcelorMittal had warned it would not be able to continue at the steelworks in Taranto -- Italy's most polluting plant -- without it.
"As a result of this development, ArcelorMittal Italia will continue operations beyond 6 September," it said in a statement.
It would continue "to monitor legal, regulatory and operational developments in relation to the Taranto plant closely in view of its continued viability," it said.
The decree comes into immediate force, although its permanence is subject to ratification by parliament within 60 days.
ArcelorMittal began leasing the plant in southern Italy in November -- with an obligation to buy it -- and is investing 2.4 billion euros (USD 2.67 billion) to revive it, including 1.2 billion euros to curb pollution by 2024.
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