EU needs strict import caps, universal tariffs: Pinter
The EU must urgently implement new comprehensive trade measures which, among other things, set 15% import caps for carbon flat and stainless steel, and 5% for carbon longs, while applying tariffs universally to all products and countries. So says Michael Pinter, US Steel Kosice director of governmental and EU affairs, as well as European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) member.
The tariffs should also be applied to countries having free trade agreements with the EU, with no loopholes, exemptions or free rides, Pinter notes in his latest EESC article read by Kallanish.
Steel origins should be traced with “melted and poured” rules to stop circumvention. Carry-overs quotas need to be eliminated and strong above-quota tariffs enforced to send an effective price signal to the market, ideally at 50% – comparable to the US tariff level, he adds.
Protectionism will not be enough, however, with energy critical to competitiveness. Pinter suggests immediate energy price relief and network tariff rebates for energy-intensive industries, and overhauled electricity markets to decouple fossil-fuel prices from electricity prices – an alternative market design to transfer the cost benefits of low carbon electricity to consumers. Moreover, a dedicated hydrogen funding mechanism is needed to power the industrial transition.
As for CBAM, “current loopholes risk undermining its effectiveness, necessitating legislative action to preserve free allowances for exports to non-EU countries. CBAM scope should also expand to cover downstream steel-intensive sectors,” Pinter notes.
For scrap, the Commission should introduce comprehensive monitoring, potential export duties or tariff quotas, and enhanced enforcement against illegal exports, he adds.
The EESC proposed these measures and more in its opinion report on the EU Steel and Metals Action Plan published in July. One request was for the release of the legislative draft on CBAM, a hot topic of late among EU steel industry participants since CBAM benchmark values are still unknown.
The European Association of Non-Integrated Metal Importers & Distributors (Euranimi) recently rejected the “melt and pour” rule, saying it is “impossible to verify in practice”. Various studies published in recent months have meanwhile showed there is unlikely to be an EU scrap shortage in the coming decade as steelmaking decarbonises, with supply growth keeping pace with demand.
Adam Smith Austria
Steel market outlook remains poor as uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs and weak demand continue
The lack of a solution for steel in the EU-U.S. trade negotiations, the ongoing unpredictability of the global geoeconomic situation, and persistently weak demand against an ever-growing global steel overcapacity are squeezing the European steel market.
In 2025, the outlook points to stagnation, with potential recovery only in 2026 — conditional on improvements in the global economy and an easing of trade tensions. According to EUROFER’s latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook, another recession both in apparent steel consumption (-0.2%, revised upwards from -0.9%) and in steel-using sectors (-0.7%, revised downwards from -0.5%) is confirmed for 2025. Growth prospects are now delayed at least to 2026, with projections of a rebound for both apparent steel consumption (+3.1%) and steel-using sectors (+1.8%). However, steel imports continue to hold historically high market shares (25%) in 2025.
“The incapability of finding an agreement on steel and the vagueness of the U.S.-EU Joint Statement on trade is detrimental to our producers, who remain subject to a 50% tariff and de facto cut off from their second export market. It’s everything but the certainty we need in these already turbulent times. With cheap imports continuing to be diverted to the EU, we cannot help but fear further closures and layoffs — including in our downstream sectors — with the irreversible loss of strategic EU assets to the benefit of our direct competitors in the U.S., Asia, North Africa and Middle East. Our last resort to tackle global overcapacity lies with the upcoming new EU trade measure. If the European Commission fails to deliver on its promises, our sector will have no backstop left”, said Axel Eggert, Director General of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), following the publication of the Economic and Steel Market Outlook Q3 2025.
EU steel market overview
In the first quarter of 2025, apparent steel consumption increased for the second consecutive time (+2.2%, after +0.5% in the last quarter of 2024), reaching 33.8 million tonnes. However, the outlook for steel demand remains highly uncertain, with improvements expected no earlier than the first quarter of 2026, and consumption volumes still far below pre-pandemic levels.
Domestic deliveries also recorded a quarterly increase (+1.4%), following a drop at the end of 2024 (-2%) and an overall decrease in 2024 (-2.8%). During the same period, imports slightly contracted (-0.6%) after another surge (+6.3%) in the fourth quarter of 2024. However, the import market share remained at historically high levels (25%) also in the first quarter of 2025, after 27% in 2024.
EU steel-using sectors
In the first quarter of 2025, steel-using sectors’s output contracted again (-3.2%), after the previous quarterly sharp drop (-4.6%) and the overall marked recession (-3.6%) in 2024. Uncertainty due to U.S. tariffs is likely to intensify, further weighing on all manufacturing sectors, and notably automotive, the most exposed to trade fluctuations. This situation is expected to impact the Steel Weighted Industrial Production index (SWIP), which is set for another downturn in 2025 (-0.7%, further down from -0.5%) as a result of a significant decline in automotive (-4.2%) and a very modest output increase in construction (+0.4%). Growth is projected to return in 2026 (+1.8%).
