The German Steel Sheet Forming Industry Association (IBU) has announced that the association and the German Cold-rolled Manufacturers Trade Association (FVK) have sent a joint letter to the European Commission (EC), protesting against a possible extension of the safeguard measures on steel imports.
According to the letter, the feared flood of imports has not occurred, import quotas are falling and global steel capacities are manageable. There is no danger to the EU steel industry and it even benefits from the steel shortage.
“Continuation of the measures would not be WTO-compliant, as there is no risk of serious injury in the industry. The arguments of the steel industry, supported by ministries of the economy from 12 EU nation states, are based on misinterpretations and non-consideration of data. Sufficient evidence for a necessary expansion of the protective measures is missing,” Bernhard Jacobs, IBU managing director, said.
According to the steel industry, steel demand has not recovered yet, taking into account the current shortage. The proponents of safeguard measures disregard the falling market shares of imports from third countries in the second and third quarters of 2020. FVK managing director Martin Kunkel stated that the EC must include all relevant time frames and products.
IBU and FVK noted that the statistics show that rolled steel imports were at low levels in 2020 and there were already declines in imports even before the coronavirus.