EUROFER Calls for Support to Steel and Jobs in EU

Release time：Nov 22, 2019 From：admin

Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council trade configuration, the European Steel Association called on the Commission to have another go at reviewing the steel safeguard. This must defend the sector against deflected steel sent to Europe given the US’ section 232 tariffs and sustained global production overcapacity. Mr Axel Eggert Director General of EUROFER said “Europe is still flooded by steel imports, even as domestic demand stalls. We have seen a contraction of at least 3% this year, even as raw material prices and CO2 costs have boomed. In particular, these CO2 costs are not borne by any other producers around the world. This year, European steel companies have had to announce production cuts of at least 15 million tonnes; 15,000 jobs have been lost or put at risk. This is in addition to the 20% decline in the steel workforce since 2008.”

He said “Firstly, it is the US’ section 232 tariffs that spurred the massive redirection of steel from their market to ours, fuelled by persistently large global steel capacity. Secondly, WTO reform is becoming ever more urgent as we need international measures to ensure trade is fair, including by being environmentally equitable. We need the EU to act decisively to prevent the disintegration of our sector and save the communities dependent upon it. Both EU and international market conditions have turned more negative since the time of the first review. Trade flow distortions are rising and the situation of the EU steel market has proven to be more negative than the outlook previously suggested. Global steel demand is weakening too, causing a depression in international prices and a rush by exporters to supply other open economies”.

EUROFER requests that the safeguard be realigned to reflect the fact that the quota volumes were set far above traditional EU import levels, and that since then market conditions have considerably deteriorated.

The agenda for Thursday’s meeting includes a review of EU-US trade relations, as well as a discussion on the WTO and on trade relations with China. These are key topics for the EU steel sector. The meeting should also include an opportunity for ministers to discuss the EU safeguard. Revisions to the safeguard were brought into place in October after a review, but these changes have proven insufficient in light of the shifting circumstances of the global steel sector.