A truck convoy will gather in Brussels on 7 September to raise awareness of the increasing pressure on Europe’s steel and metal value chains.
The rally is organised by distributors association EUROMETAL to emphasise that Europe must preserve the industrial value chains on which its low-emission transition, strategic autonomy, employment and resilience are based. It will assemble representatives of Europe’s steel distribution, processing and downstream manufacturing industries at the event.
“The truck convoy is not a protest against Europe. It is a demonstration for a strong European industrial base, fair competition, climate credibility and secure supply chains,” EUROMETAL says.
The core of the protest is against the omission so far of steel-based imports from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is confined to immediate mill products.
Steel-intensive manufactured goods and steel derivatives are increasingly entering the European market without equivalent trade, origin, carbon and regulatory obligations, EUROMETAL notes. This shifts production, jobs and emissions out of Europe while weakening the established domestic industrial base, EUROMETAL warns.
The association has repeatedly pointed out the dangers of this loophole, most recently in early June at Kallanish’s Europe Steel Markets conference in Vienna.
According to a EUROMETAL basis paper, the examined shortlist of critical steel derivatives imports increased from 3.774 million tonnes in 2010 to 8.050mt in 2024. Particularly dynamic growth is visible in rail technology, electrical machinery, automotive components, metal furniture and prefabricated constructions, EUROMETAL says.
The basis paper also highlights the risks of international trade diversion. Without appropriate EU action, Europe risks becoming a destination market for diverted overcapacity and carbon-intensive steel-based products.
“A visible truck convoy in Brussels is therefore necessary to show that this is not an abstract policy debate. It affects real companies, real drivers, real workers and real communities,” EUROMETAL concludes.
Christian Koehl Germany
