The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has stated that, with US tariffs now raised to 50 percent, the only way to avoid the further erosion of the European steel market is the swift implementation of the “highly effective trade measure” promised by the European Commission.
Expecting a massive deflection of the 27 million mt of steel previously destined for the US towards the European market due to the doubling of US tariffs on steel, EUROFER noted that, with global overcapacity at record highs and import penetration in the EU up to 30 percent, the EU is being flooded by cheap foreign steel.
Reporting that most of the 3.8 million mt of EU steel exports to the US are now under a de facto import ban, the association stated that, with the 50 percent tariff, even Europe’s highest-quality, most competitive steel products will be priced out.
“We need the Commission’s promised ‘highly effective trade measure’ as a lifeline, and we need it now. If we wait until 2026, when the current EU steel safeguard expires, much of our industry will already be submerged beyond recovery. … A negotiated EU-US solution is paramount to preserve our exports at this critical moment for the European sector. The US and the EU should reopen negotiations, stalled in 2024, to address global overcapacity jointly,” Axel Eggert, director general of EUROFER, said.