The head of thyssenkrupp Steel, Dennis Grimm, has called for a “European steel content” quota in public tenders.
His plea is linked to the €500 million ($583m) “Special Federal Budget for Infrastructure” launched by the German government. The spending only makes sense if the tenders require the use of steel made in the EU, which is not the case yet, he says. “It would be grotesque if the German special fund becomes a booster for imported steels that were subsidised in China,” he notes in a guest article for business weekly Wirtschaftswoche.
“Grotesque” is the word he also uses for the fact that the EU still allows the import of Russian slab into Europe. By doing so, Europe is helping finance Russia’s aggression, while domestic mills need to cut back their workforce, he argues. “I am lacking the imagination on how to bring this home to my employees,” he writes in the article seen by Kallanish.
Grimm identifies three main issues on which policymakers must act as soon as possible. Apart from a European content quota, he names the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and trade protection against subsidised imports. Here he refers to the tangible proposal from the European Commission to halve the current import quota, and to impose a 50% duty on imports above the limit.
“Eleven countries are supporting this proposal, but not Germany, the number one steel producing country”, for concern of rising prices for consumers, Grimm points out. However, these costs would be manageable, with approximately €50 more for a passenger car, and €1 more for a washing machine.
“We can live with that, rather than with the demise of entire value chains, which would then be irreversible,” Grimm warns.
Christian Koehl Germany
