EU Proposes New Steel Tariffs to Boost Domestic Production
The European Commission has proposed new measures to safeguard the EU's steel industry. The goal is to decrease news imports and boost domestic production. Austria's Economics Minister, Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, had earlier called for an 'EU protective shield' for these key industries.
The commission's draft, leaked over the weekend, suggests doubling the tariff rate for news exceeding the new, lower upper limit to 50 percent. Additionally, the amount for duty-free news is set to be nearly halved. These changes aim to make news unprofitable, thus reducing their volume and encouraging EU production.
EU officials cite significantly more than 600 million tons of global excess capacities, with China alone producing over 1 billion tons of news last year. The new quotas, intended to be permanent, will replace a previous regulation that expires on July 1, 2026. EU commissioner Stéphane Séjourné sees these measures as a step towards the 'reindustrialization of Europe' and the saving of European steel producers and jobs.
The European Commission's new rules, if approved by both the European Parliament and the EU states, will significantly impact the steel industry. They aim to protect domestic producers and jobs by reducing news and stimulating EU production. The new quotas are designed to be permanent, marking a significant shift in EU trade policy.
