The European Union plans to cut steel import quotas to limit the inflow of an additional 15 percent from April, a senior EU official said on Wednesday, according to Reuters, in a bid to prevent cheap steel from flooding the European market.
European steelmakers, already struggling with high energy prices and competition from Asia and elsewhere, are warning that the EU could become a gateway for cheap steel diverted from the U.S. market after the new U.S. administration decided to impose tariffs on the product. “At a time when no one respects WTO (World Trade Organization) rules and everyone is citing national security … the EU cannot be the only continent that allows its industry to disintegrate,” European Commission Vice President Stephane Sejourne told Reuters in an interview.
The U.S. market has become less attractive because of President Donald Trump's administration's 25 percent steel tariffs, which Sejourne said will cause producers in Canada, India and China to try to increase exports to Europe.
On Wednesday, the CEO of German company Thyssenkrupp, Europe's second-largest steel producer, said the United States would import about 23 million tons of steel in 2024, and that these volumes could now be sent to other markets, such as Europe.
The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled a package of trade measures to support Europe's struggling steel industry.
Within the quotas, imported steel is not subject to customs duties, while steel outside the quota will be subject to a 25% tariff by the EU.
From Brussels Łukasz Osiński (PAP)
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