Letter to European Commision: European steel industry calls for urgent action

In a joint letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President Laurence Séjourné, the European Steel Association (EUROFER) and industriAll European Trade Union have issued a plea for immediate action to address the escalating crisis in the steel sector. The letter highlights critical challenges, including mass job losses, halted decarbonization plans, and the influx of cheap foreign steel, which threaten the survival of the industry.

The letter opens with a stark warning about the state of the industry: “The European steel industry is in crisis, with thousands of job cuts being recently announced, and billions of euros in decarbonization plans currently being halted.” The signatories, Axel Eggert, Director General of EUROFER, and Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary of industriAll, urgently call for a meeting with the European Commission leadership to discuss solutions and their proposed Steel Action Plan, which has received broad support from Members of the European Parliament across political groups.

A major concern outlined in the letter is the impact of global steel overcapacity, driven largely by dumping practices from China. “Following the economic crisis in China, it is estimated that around 100 million tonnes of Chinese steel are flooding major markets at dumping prices,” the letter states. The authors further caution that other steel-producing regions, including South Asia, the Middle East, India, and Japan, are exacerbating the problem by rerouting exports to the EU, thereby depressing global prices and undermining EU competitiveness.

While acknowledging the importance of current EU trade defense instruments (TDIs), the letter criticizes their limitations in addressing the scale of the problem. “Current EU trade defense instruments remain essential, but are unfortunately insufficient to tackle the spill-over of global steel overcapacity,” the letter asserts. The social partners advocate for emergency measures, including WTO-compliant import tariffs, to counter the combined effects of market-distorting export surges and extreme low prices.

In addition to immediate trade measures, the letter calls for a high-level “European Steel Summit” to be convened at the beginning of 2025. “This level of crisis requires a high-level European Steel Summit,” the letter emphasizes. The proposed summit would bring together social partners, Member States, and EU officials to address the crisis and prepare for the announced “Steel and Metals Action Plan.” Key topics would include reducing energy prices, ensuring the effectiveness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), securing access to raw materials, and advancing green investments through initiatives such as the Clean Industrial Deal.

Source: Eurofer, Photo: Fotolia