The German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl) has stated that the European Commission (EC)’s new regulations for EU safeguard measures coming into force on July 1 miss the aim of protecting the EU steel industry and the associated value chains from significant damage. WV said it believes that European Commission’s decision not to reduce the quota levels puts the EU steel industry’s recovery at risk. The federation stated that the main demand made by the steel industry has not been met.
WV Stahl president Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff said that the EC did not take into account the economic situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the federation, the coronavirus pandemic led to a decrease in steel demand not just in Germany but also all over the world. Kerkhoff stated that the EC should now find other ways in order to prevent another serious import crisis in the EU steel market, following the coronavirus outbreak. He also noted that the development of steel imports should be closely monitored.
WV Stahl stated that it believes that a holistic view should be adopted in order to overcome the difficulties in the steel industry
The European Steel Association (EUROFER) and European trade union federation IndustriAll Europe had also asked the EC to reduce safeguard quotas, as previously reported by SteelOrbis.