Eco Min: EU Steelmakers Bedevilled by Various Problems, Big-picture View Needed

Bratislava, 23 July (TASR) – The steel sector in the European Union faces complex challenges, including excess steel production in China, high energy costs in Europe and recent US tariffs of 25 percent on steel and aluminium, said Slovak Economy Ministry spokesperson Maria Pavlusik on Wednesday in response to a call by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party for a full ban on steel imports from Russia. Pavlusik underlined that steel and steel product imports from Russia are already broadly banned under EU sanctions. "Only a few quotas for selected iron and steel semi-finished products remain as part of a compromise unanimously approved by all EU-member states, including the sanction packages from October and December 2022 and December 2023. Some states expressed reservations about broader restrictions, but Slovakia was not among them," stated Pavlusík. She emphasised that mainly raw iron is imported from Russia, with an exemption in place until 2028 and with a gradually decreasing quota. Even with the exemption, unlimited imports aren't possible. Most raw iron imports come from Ukraine, EU countries, South Africa and Norway. "Moreover, these quotas are reduced annually, and some will expire by the end of 2025. The utilisation of these quotas at EU level does not reach maximum limits – a lot of quota volume remains unused," she added. The European Commission recently launched a public consultation to gather expert input from the entire steel industry — including producers, processors and European associations — aiming to identify future measures to protect the EU steel sector from unfair trading practices and the negative effects of global overcapacity. Public participation will be possible until 18 August. The collected knowledge will help find an effective replacement for the current EU safeguard measures on imports of certain steel products, which will expire on 30 June 2026. "Slovakia has joined France’s initiative to protect the steel industry and, along with other Western European countries, is calling for a 40–50 percent reduction in duty-free import quotas starting in January 2026. This protective measure also aims to respond to declining steel demand within the EU," said the spokesperson. At a press conference on Monday, Vice-president of the European Parliament and PS Presidium member Martin Hojsik said that it is time for Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and his government to truly fight for Slovakia's economic national interests. Instead of prolonging dependence on Russian fuels, they should push for a total ban on Russian steel imports. While sanctions on steel imports were among the first introduced, high quotas remain, which Hojsik says threaten Slovak and European producers. mf/df