Alexander M. Julius, President of EUROMETAL, participated in the latest episode of the European Commission’s Trade-Off podcast, a series exploring the European Union’s commercial and trade policy.
Entitled “What’s the deal with steel?”, the episode examines the strategic importance of the steel sector for Europe’s economy and industrial future. The discussion highlights how steel remains indispensable for the green and digital transitions, supplying the essential materials needed for wind turbines, electric vehicles, infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
The podcast also addresses the significant challenges currently facing the European steel industry, including persistently high energy costs, global overcapacity, and increasing pressure from subsidised imports. Against this backdrop, the panel discusses the European Union’s new steel trade measures and their expected impact on the market.
Joining Alexander Julius were Sarah Rerbal, Head of Trade Policy at thyssenkrupp Steel, and Pauline Weinzierl from the European Commission.
Reflecting on the discussion, Alexander Julius welcomed the open exchange of views on the advantages and shortcomings of the new framework, while underlining one of the key concerns expressed by market participants: “I very much liked our discussion on the pros and cons of the measures. One of the main concerns we discussed was the late publication of the country-specific tariff quota allocations. The delayed announcement created significant uncertainty for the steel-using industry at a critical stage of the implementation of the new EU steel trade regime.”
The episode provides valuable insight into the policy objectives behind the EU’s new steel trade regime while recognising the practical challenges faced by manufacturers, distributors, service centres and steel users during its implementation.
EUROMETAL invites members and stakeholders to listen to the podcast here:
