This infographic shows why the EU needs the EU steel safeguard - and why it needs to work. Steel is an intensively traded product in a market suffering from significant global overcapacity. This is affecting the financial and economic sustainability of the steel sector.
The safeguards are a justified trade policy response to import surges caused by external factors. The quota itself is based on the average volume data from 2015-2017. The quota increased by 5% in February 2019 and is schedule to increase by another 5% in July 2019. This expansion of the quota size is independent of the growth of the overall EU steel market.
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Brussels, 13 February 2025 – Following the high-level conference “A Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for Climate - Addressing carbon leakage to strengthen global climate action”, organised in Paris by the European Commission and the French Ministries of Finance, Economics and Climate Transition, EUROFER emphasises that simplification must go hand in hand with ensuring the instrument’s effectiveness. This means addressing key issues such as resource shuffling, exports, and the inclusions of products further down the value chain.
Brussels, 11 February 2025
Brussels, 06 February 2025 – The economic and geopolitical conditions that have affected the European steel market over the past two years show no signs of improvement and have further deepened their negative impact on the sector in 2024. Growing uncertainty continues to weigh also on 2025 and 2026, with the outlook hinging on unpredictable developments especially as regards international trade. According to EUROFER’s latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook, the recession in apparent steel consumption in 2024 will be steeper than previously projected (-2.3%, down from -1.8%) and the expected recovery in 2025 has now been downgraded (+2.2%, down from +3.8%). Similarly, steel-using sectors’ recession has been revised downwards for 2024 (-3.3% from -2.7%), while growth projections for 2025 have also been lowered (+0,9% from +1.6%). Some acceleration is not expected until 2026 (+2.1%). Steel imports remain at historically high levels (28%) also in the third quarter of 2024.
The European Steel Association (EUROFER)
172 Avenue de Cortenbergh
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Email: mail@eurofer.eu
Phone: +32 (0) 2 738 79 20
