EU steel sector requests emergency summit, tariffs amid import surge

The IndustriAll European Trade Union and the European Steel Association (EUROFER), representing the EU's steel sector, have formally requested in an open letter published Dec. 9 an urgent meeting with President von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President Séjourné to discuss immediate solutions and their Steel Action Plan to sustain the European steel industry.

In the letter the associations underlined how the steel sector, already grappling with the repercussions of energy and raw material shortages, is now confronted with an influx of cheap foreign steel. Following the economic downturn in China, it is estimated that approximately 100 million mt of Chinese steel are entering major markets at dumping prices. This situation, coupled with a staggering global steel excess capacity of 560 million mt, poses a catastrophic threat to the EU steel industry and its workforce.

"However, the issue is bigger than only China, with other steel producing regions of the world, such as South Asia, the Middle East, India, and Japan, rerouting to the EU, depressing global steel prices, and endangering the survival of our sector and investments in the green transition," the letter stated.

To combat these challenges, the current EU trade defense instruments (TDIs) are deemed essential, yet they fall short of addressing the ongoing crisis of global steel overcapacity, the associations noted, advocating for immediate emergency measures and a comprehensive EU trade initiative.

They proposed the implementation of import tariffs, in line with World Trade Organization regulations, to address the dual crisis of market-distorting export surges and extraordinarily low prices, and called for a high-level "European Steel Summit" at the start of the upcoming year.

This summit would bring together steel social partners, Member States, and senior officials from EU institutions to collaboratively tackle the current crisis. It aims to lay the groundwork for the anticipated "Steel and Metals Action Plan" and other initiatives focused on reducing energy costs, ensuring the effectiveness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), securing access to raw materials, promoting a Just Transition, and enhancing investments, such as the Clean Industrial Deal.

This is not the first call from the two associations, having already asked the EC to intervene with concrete measurements in October,November and December.

Nearly 100,000 steel sector jobs in the EU have been lost over the past 15 years, with more cuts expected. Capacity utilization in the EU has sunk to an alarming 60%, a figure that many industry experts deem unsustainable.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe at Eur550/mt ($582/mt) ex-works Ruhr Dec. 6, down 20% since the start of 2024.