A letter sent to the heads of state and government of the member states of the European Union by the European Steel Association (EUROFER), on behalf of the CEOs of Tata Steel Netherland, Arvedi, ArcelorMittal Europe, Aperam, Riva Stahl, Voestalpine Steel Division and Salzgitter AG, has called upon the European Council during its informal meeting of trade ministers on October 17-18 to consider some issues the European steel industry is facing.
According to the letter, the European steel industry, which is an indispensable part of many key EU manufacturing value chains, is in its worst crisis since the financial and economic crisis in 2009. This is driven by the impact of global steel overcapacity, which was 551 million mt in 2023 and continues its destructive effect, and unfair trade, which exacerbates the impact of low steel demand and high energy prices in the EU. Without urgent measures, the crisis will make it difficult in most of the EU member states to preserve a resilient and sustainable steel industry that can invest in ambitious decarbonization projects by 2030 and beyond.
Steel production in the EU has shrunk by 30 percent since 2008 to 126 million mt in 2023, while capacity utilization has recently dropped to the lowest, unviable levels of around 60 percent.
Noting that a Steel Action Plan as part of the Clean Industrial Deal must include both emergency measures and a structural solution to the disastrous impact of global overcapacity and unfair trade on the EU steel market, EUROFER has called upon government officials to support and endorse, as a matter of urgency, measures to strengthen assertive enforcement of the EU Trade Defense Instruments to stop unfair trade practices and circumvention, and a structural solution to comprehensively stop the spill-over impact of persisting and worsening global excess capacity. In addition, the current steel safeguards must be replaced by a more robust tariffication regime, improvements to the Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) to preserve EU steel exports, action throughout the EU to reduce energy costs for energy-intensive industries, and to secure access to raw materials while retaining steel scrap within the EU, and the establishment of lead markets to drive the demand for green steel in Europe.
