According to a statement by German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl), while the implementation of interim safeguard measures on steel imports to the EU as recently proposed by the European Commission (EC) is necessary, it is inadequate to protect the steel industry in the EU since US steel tariffs have caused many exporters to turn to the European market.
WV Stahl president Hans Juergen Kerkhoff said that steel exports to the EU increased by ten percent in 2018 as a result of the US tariffs. According to Kerkhoff, the EC’s proposed safeguard measures will be ineffective if the commission continues to increase import quotas. Therefore, an urgent improvement on the EC’s proposal is strongly demanded by German steelmakers, Kerkhoff argued.