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The European Commission recently announced the first set of measures under its Steel and Metals Action Plan (SMAP), which did not include any restrictions on scrap steel exports. A709 Grade HPS 100W steel sheet, This move has been widely welcomed by European and German steel recycling companies.
The German recycling industry associations bvse – Recycling Germany, BDSV (German Steel Recycling and Scrap Trade Association), VDM (German Metal Trade Association), and the European organization Recycling Europe, stated that they understand the EU's adoption of a "European-first procurement" policy to support the steel industry in the current context, but emphasized that to achieve carbon neutrality and enhance industrial competitiveness, A709 Grade HPS 100W steel sheet, policies must balance market openness and fair competition.
Guido Lipinski, CEO of the German Steel Recycling and Scrap Trade Association, pointed out that "raising import tariffs and cutting quotas have not truly combated 'unfair trade,' but instead have burdened European downstream processing companies and consumers with the costs of trade protectionism."
Furthermore, the association expressed concern about the EU's decision to implement protection measures for only certain categories of steel products – after all, semi-finished products such as slabs and billets can still be imported duty-free, which could trigger a chain reaction, prompting industries such as automotive, chemical, and energy to seek similar protection measures.
Despite the disagreements, the industry generally believes that the EU's decision not to restrict scrap steel exports is a "victory for reason and common sense."
Sebastian Will, a member of the board of directors of the German Recycling Association and vice president of the European Recycling Federation, stated: "Imposing export barriers based solely on the demands of individual interest groups will severely damage the trust of the scrap metal industry in EU institutions. More than 80% of scrap metal is traded within the EU, and fair competition is the foundation for innovation and price stability."
Currently, the German recycling industry associations—the German Recycling Association, the German Steel Recycling and Scrap Trade Association, and the German Metal Trade Association—represent approximately 5,000 companies in the German recycling sector. These companies operate without subsidies and provide over 65,000 jobs. A709 Grade HPS 100W steel sheet, The European Recycling Federation brings together over 20,000 companies with more than 350,000 employees. All parties express support for the steel decarbonization process but believe that the core of the EU's new industrial policy should be "competitiveness rather than administrative barriers."
