The European Steel Using Industries, a group of lobby organisations representing manufacturers of goods ranging from cars and home appliances to agricultural machinery, has warned that the European Commission’s proposal to extend and tighten safeguards on steel imports risks undermining the competitiveness of Europe’s downstream industries, Kallanish notes from a joint press statement.
While supporting the objective of addressing global overcapacity and ensuring a level playing field for European steelmakers, the associations argue that the parameters proposed would excessively ring-fence the EU market and fail to strike a fair balance between steel producers and users. They caution that the proposal would almost halve overall import quota volumes while doubling the out-of-quota tariff to 50%, potentially imposing an additional €5-9 billion/year in tariff costs on downstream industries, assuming import volumes remain at 2024 levels.
The commission estimates an average 3.25% rise in EU steel prices under the proposal, but the associations say this is a conservative assumption, noting that price increases of up to 30% could materialise in certain product categories. Such increases would hit not only importers but also companies reliant on EU-produced steel, weakening both European and international competitiveness.
Concerns are raised over the planned introduction of a “melt-and-pour” rule, which the associations say would significantly increase administrative burdens, particularly for SMEs. They warn that tracing origin for low-value consignments would be practically unworkable and argue that any such requirement should be implemented more cautiously and phased in over realistic timelines.
The associations add that tighter safeguards would make it harder to source specialised, high-quality steel inputs required for complex industrial applications, many of which are produced by only a limited number of suppliers globally and not in sufficient volumes within Europe.
They stress that these effects would compound the impact of other policy measures, including the carbon border adjustment mechanism and the phase-out of free ETS allowances, further increasing steel costs across the value chain. The proposal would affect close EU trade partners that do not contribute to global overcapacity but instead supply high-quality, sustainable and specialised steel to integrated EU value chains.
Switzerland is cited as an example of a partner that should be excluded from the scope of the measure.
If adopted in its current form, the proposal would have a negative impact on Europe’s steel-using industries, the associations conclude. They urge EU policymakers to pursue a more balanced approach that adequately reflects the concerns of downstream manufacturers alongside the interests of European steel producers.
The statement is jointly signed by European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, APPLiA (Home Appliance Europe), Committee for European Construction Equipment, European Association of the Machine Tool Industries and Related Manufacturing Technologies, European Taps and Valves Association, European Agricultural Machinery Association, European Construction Industry Federation, Metal Packaging Europe, Europe’s Technology Industries group known as Orgalim, and Pneurop, which is the European association representing manufacturers of compressors, vacuum pumps, pneumatic tools and related equipment.
