Multiple EU nations have put pressure on the European Commission and other member states to work closely together on the anticipated “Steel and Metals Action Plan”, to boost clean industry while preserving competitiveness.
Representatives from Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovakia made the plea last week during a summit hosted at the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty in Paris.
The Commission is scheduled to announce its long-awaited Steel and Metals Action Plan in the spring.
“The effects of this crisis are already being felt: for the past years, EU steel producers saw continued low production and had to idle capacity to adjust to depressed demand and increasing import penetration … In the short term, we must continue making full and efficient use of the EU trade defence toolbox,” the nations say in a joint statement obtained by Kallanish.
“Regarding the major issue of overcapacities, we must keep in mind that the steel safeguards will expire in June 2026 … By 2026, the economic context is expected to significantly deteriorate for the steel industry with the anticipated rise of global excess capacity (+27% from 2023 to 2026 – from 275% of EU capacities to 350%), according to the OECD and the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity,” it continues.
“For flat steel from blast furnaces, for instance, the price gap our steelmakers cannot bridge is estimated to amount to about €55/tonne of steel, in addition to the extra cost of CO2 (also €55/t of steel, in 2026, and assuming an ETS cost of €85/tonne of CO2),” the statement reads.
Among the urgent measures proposed, a rapid deployment of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy mechanisms is required, as well as the rapid enhancement of the current safeguard measure. After current safeguards expire in mid-2026, a new steel sector defence mechanism should replace them, addressing existing flaws, overcapacity, and EU demand fluctuations.
To carry out decarbonisation and provide clarity for steelmakers, structural measures like the Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) need to be improved. “Further work is needed between now and 2026 to tackle the anticipated risks, particularly as regards the risks of carbon leakage, on both the downstream and export sides. In particular, to avoid resource shuffling, default emission values for steel products could be applied as soon as possible,” the statement continues.
Officials from various countries are advocating the Commission to maintain competitive energy costs at the EU level, guarantee access to raw materials while keeping scrap within the EU, and establish a framework that fosters the growth of green product markets, potentially through public procurement initiatives.
Spanish steel association Unesid called for similar measures following its participation in the meeting last week.
The Strategic Dialogue On Steel will be held today, chaired by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Natalia Capra France
