Polish steelmakers are pushing for the imposition of safeguard quotas for steel and scrap from Ukraine to curb arrivals of lower-priced finished products, Polish union of steel distributors president Piotr Sikorski said at an industry event in Milan on Thursday.
Sikorski’s comments came in the wake of remarks made by EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic this week that alluded to the possible inclusion of Ukraine in the new steel safeguard due to come into effect on 1 July.
Ukraine’s scrap export ban has made mills across the border from Poland even more competitive, Sikorski said. Scrap exports in Poland are about 2mn t/yr, and Ukraine was sending a lot less than that. The main issue lies in the fact that Ukrainian steelmakers have become even more competitive, Sikorski added, pointing out that the ban was not driven by any surge in steel demand in Ukraine.
Ukraine has been exempt from the current EU steel safeguard, and other duties, to assist its economy during the conflict with Russia.
This remains an unresolved issue and it is possible there may be a quota for steel and scrap — Polish producers are pushing for this but there is no certainty over the outcome, Sikorski said.
EU imports of Ukrainian hot-rolled coil rose from less than 508,000t in 2022 to nearly 1.3mn t in 2025.
Some Ukrainian steel exports to the EU have increased by 50pc, showing how competitive its sector is despite the conflict, Sefcovic said on Tuesday.
