Saxony joins alliance of steel countries

The aim of the alliance, led by Saarland and North Rhine-Westphalia, is to support the domestic steel industry through joint activities and to protect it from additional burdens. A joint strategy paper, the "guard rails", was published for this purpose. In addition to Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Württemberg are members of the alliance.

Economics Minister Martin Dulig: "With our steel mills and the employees there, we in Saxony contribute to high-quality and innovative steel production in Germany. It is an important prerequisite for the German user industry, especially the automotive industry, which is also strong in Saxony, and the mechanical and plant engineering industry, to be able to manufacture equally high-quality and innovative products and thus assert themselves in global competition.

Together with his counterparts, Dulig has now written to the German government. Here, the steel countries are advocating a market-adequate adjustment of the quota quantities for the steel tariff quotas of the EU.

The aim is for the EU tariff quotas introduced as a result of US steel tariffs to be automatically relaxed at a flat annual rate of five percent in order to avoid sudden trade diversions from third countries. In view of the deteriorating economic situation in the steel sector, this regulation calls into question the effectiveness of the instrument. Saxony and the other steel states therefore plead for the use of the review clause contained in the EU Commission's regulation on the safeguard clause measures. This would allow an adjustment against the background of the current situation.

Source: Sachsen.de   Photo: HBIS