The European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) has announced that a coalition representing European steel users has called into question the European Commission’s imposition of safeguard measures. The coalition includes the automotive sector, technology industries, and home appliance, wind energy and packaging sectors.
According to CLEPA, given that the data for 2018 presents a very limited decrease in imports compared to 2017, the possibility of serious injury for European steel producers is minimal. The decrease in US imports in 2018 amounted to 3 million mt of steel, while the EU market is approximately 165 million mt in total.
CLEPA stated that steel-consuming manufacturers in Europe now fear that any safeguard measures will lead to increased prices and even tighter capacity in the European steel market.
The European Commission has failed to take into account the interests of downstream steel users when it made the proposal to apply definitive measures, the CLEPA statement said. Together, the associations represented by the coalition employ approximately 20 million people in Europe. The competitiveness of European manufacturing needs to be preserved, according to the statement.
The signatories to the statement are European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Home Appliance Europe (APPLIA), CLEPA, Metal Packaging Europe, Orgalime, and WindEurope.