Groebler stated: “The steel industry is making steady progress in competitively achieving climate neutrality. This goal cannot be achieved without us, especially if Europe is to maintain its economic strength and strategic autonomy,”. However, he pointed out that the sector's competitive conditions have become increasingly difficult in recent years, noting that factors such as the increase in unfair and cheap imports from the Far East, weak demand, rapidly rising energy costs and increasingly difficult geo-economic competition have challenged the steel industry.
Groebler added that these challenges will be exacerbated by the tariffs planned by a possible Trump 2.0 administration in the US and emphasized the need for timely and coordinated political action by Europe. The Strategic Dialogue meeting, to which EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invited the steel industry on March 4, will be crucial to identify concrete steps.
Trade Protection and European Content Criteria
Kerstin Maria Rippel, Managing Director of WV Stahl, stated that the Clean Industrial Deal provides an important basis for strengthening trade protection, establishing an action plan for affordable energy and European content criteria for low-emission raw materials. Rippel stated that the right steps have been taken in these areas, but further elaboration is needed.
Rippel emphasized that this is where the Steel and Metals Action Plan in particular comes into play, stressing that existing safeguard measures must be tightened and a sustainable and effective solution must be found by mid-2026. This is the only way to protect against the effects of global distortions of overcapacity in the steel sector.
Energy Policy Disappointing
Rippel stated that the sector's expectations were not met in terms of the action plan for affordable energy and emphasized that competitive industrial electricity prices should be on the agenda along with the reduction of energy taxes and grid charges. She stated that it is critical that the new German government addresses competitive energy prices as a priority issue on the national agenda.
CBAM Revision Fails to Meet Expectations
WV Stahl points out that the industry's expectations have not been fully met in the EU's revision of the CO₂ Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). “This mechanism needs to be implemented quickly and effectively to offset the cost disadvantages of the European emissions trading system,” stated Rippel. He also emphasized that exported products should be considered under CBAM, downstream products should be included in the system and stricter rules against fraud should be introduced.
“Europe Faces the Risk of Falling Behind”
Rippel concluded that the Clean Industry Agreement is a step in the right direction, but without clear action plans and improvements, Europe risks falling behind in global competition. She warned that “Existing trade protection measures must be tightened urgently and the CBAM design must be improved this year. And without a pioneering market concept for low-emission raw materials, Europe will fall behind other regions,”.
Comments
No comment yet.