Massimiliano Salini, Italian member of the European Parliament (MEP) and member of the EU’s Industry Commission, this week sent a letter to EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan asking for a review of the current EU steel safeguard quotas. "The coronavirus emergency has brought down steel demand, reducing it by more than 50 percent," said Mr. Salini in this letter, explaining that "non-EU countries are flooding the EU market, especially Turkey, with steel volumes at extremely low costs which are unsustainable for our companies which for years have experienced enormous difficulties due to this unfair competition." Mr. Salini has asked the European Commission to act urgently in support of the EU companies and jobs. His letter was signed by over 70 MEPS from the main groups of the EU Parliament.
"The coronavirus crisis is so serious that I asked my fellow MEPs to share my request to the commission to further reduce the quota for imported non-EU steel. We need a strong political awareness that goes beyond technicalities: the steel industry is one of the most important industrial chains in Italy and Europe and, due to the epidemic, for weeks we have recorded orders plummeting, production cuts and shorter work shifts," Salini commented.