Tel :
Tel :
On September 9, 2025, the German steelworkers' union Thyssenkrupp called on the German government and the European Union to restrict slab imports. L245N steel, Currently, Germany imports over 8 million tons of semi-finished steel products from the EU annually, including a large quantity of slabs.
Currently, slabs are not included in the EU's steel trade safeguard measures, despite accounting for more than 20% of the EU's total steel imports. Due to the sanctions transition period, slabs from Russia can still be legally imported until 2028. L245N steel, This loophole allows some large steel mills to benefit: they reduce costs by importing low-priced slabs and decrease direct carbon emissions, ultimately profiting through the resale of carbon emission allowances (EU ETS).
However, this practice has sparked some controversy. ThyssenKrupp criticized the move, saying that "large-scale imports of Russian slabs" are impacting the EU market and that legislative intervention is necessary as soon as possible; some European steel associations have also raised similar concerns. L245N steel, Overall, however, large steel companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are at odds in terms of interests: the former benefit from low-priced slabs, while the latter are limited in their competitiveness due to existing trade protection policies.
