New steel safeguards meet Europe’s tech industries
The European Commission has released its proposal for steel safeguards. Designed to limit steel imports and protect domestic steel industry, although this is undeniably important, it is our view that the EU is once again protecting our domestic steel industry while leaving downstream industries vulnerable. I.e. it will hurt the industries that buy and use steel.
Orgalim represents the companies that are powering the green and digital transitions: made significantly harder without access to competitive and decarbonised steel.
The current steel safeguards risk undermining the competitiveness and resilience of our sectors, because in effect they restrict access to specialised steel products, which are already produced in insufficient quantities in the EU.
If quotas limit imports - and domestic supply is insufficient - the resulting constraints will slow production, drive up costs, and cause delays.
We call on the co-legislators to:
➡️ Ensure sufficient duty-free quotas
➡️ Minimise the administrative burden for companies using the quotas
➡️ Examine the knock-on effects on the entire steel value chain
➡️ Exclude additional partner countries (such as Switzerland and the UK) from the scope of the measures.
We must work together for a strong steel value chain in Europe.