German minister eyes EU-US steel quota: reports
Germany’s new finance minister wants to discuss the possibility of a quota system for European steel exports to the USA, as a means of securing exemptions from the across-the-board 50% US duties.
Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democrats (SPD) is the finance minister of the new German government and is on his inaugural visit to the USA this week. Among other things, he will propose a quota system for steel when meeting with his US counterpart, Scott Bessent.
German media reports quote Klingbeil as saying that “a certain amount of the steel exports might cross the Atlantic without duties, or minor duties. This would be a key interest for the German steel industry with the many jobs linked to it, and I will address that topic.”
He notes that a quota would be a workable tool, and that he will be testing to what extent the US government would be willing to take steps in that direction, Kallanish reads on the website of public broadcaster ZDF.
Klingbeil underlines that the topic would eventually be discussed at European level by representatives of the European Commission.
Christian Koehl Germany
Klöckner expands electrical steel capacity in US
Distribution group Klöckner & Co says it has further invested in the expansion of electrical steel capacity in the USA to meet steeply rising demand.
Two years ago, Klöckner gained access to the North American market for electrical steels, both grain-oriented and non-grain oriented. It then noted that this market is much more attractive for investments and acquisitions than in Europe.
During a conference call on Wednesday, Klöckner chief executive Guido Kerkhoff mentioned the company has established a new state-of-the-art production and service centre in the US. Klöckner will significantly expand the processing of cold-rolled grain-oriented (CRGO) electrical steel, slitting and transformer core production, Kallanish heard him say.
He noted the US has urgent demand for renewal of transformer capacities in the national power grid, given its frequent breakdowns. The new plant is expected to become fully operational over the course of the third quarter.
Kerkhoff also mentioned a new acquisition in Switzerland, where the firm has taken over Simfloc, a company specialising in the installation of building services. This step makes Swiss subsidiary Debrunner Koenig the first end-to-end provider of building installations in Switzerland, thus opening up new markets, he said.
Klöckner’s latest acquisition occurred in Germany, in June, when it integrated Ambo Stahl, a Cologne-based company specialising in wear-resistant and high-tensile special steels, ballistic and armour steels. This expansion of the product and service portfolio also taps into new growth potential in the security and defence sector, which the company has been highlighting lately.
Christian Koehl Germany