Scrap metal recycling associations BIR and Euric have opposed fresh calls for trade restrictions made at a steel industry summit held in Paris in late February.
European steel industry representatives called for ensuring scrap availability for the steel industry after the Future of the European Steel Industry summit on 27 February.
Echoing sentiment from the EU's progressing Waste Shipment Review (WSR), they also urged that exports should be better controlled through restrictions or bans to third countries that do not "adopt environmental and production legislation similar to Europe".
In a joint statement on 4 March, BIR and Euric said these proposals are based on "demonstrably incorrect premises that require immediate correction".
Europe's recycling sector produces more than the domestic market consumes, the associations said, and metal recyclers will face challenges from the WSR when it is adopted — which BIR and Euric last week urged more non-OECD countries to apply for inclusion.
They added that export restrictions would affect prices reducing collection rates, decrease investment and lead to many companies exiting the market.
The associations also said cutting off European recycled metal export supply would force many global producers "to revert to more carbon-intensive basic oxygen furnace production", increasing emissions.
Both associations instead proposed the use of mandatory recycled content targets; procurement policies that prioritise recycled materials; supporting industry investment; and the meaningful inclusion of the recycling sector in policy discussions.
Following a dialogue held between EU and industry representatives today, Eurofer director-general Axel Eggert expressed confidence that the EU would submit proposals on controlling scrap exports, and that it would make adjustments to the steel safeguards to be implemented from 1 April. But to remain compliant with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, the bloc would not be able to change the overall quotas, which are linked to historic imports, he added. The European Commission said today that it will present an action plan on 19 March, to determine how best to respond to "unfair and unjustified trading practices", and to identify long-term measures to replace the current steel safeguards.
The move follows a joint declaration by Belgium, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia and Spain on 27 February that emphasised the need for the "full and efficient use of the EU trade defence toolbox". Noting that EU steel consumption declined by 27pc between 2018 and 2023 to 125.6mn t, the member states urged the EU to consider more rigorous and agile use of anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties, for instance to open investigations on the basis of a "threat of injury" without waiting for material injury to occur, and to examine whether it is possible to reduce the 8-9 month grace period before measures are implemented. The declaration also reiterated the need for the emissions trading scheme-carbon border adjustment mechanism (ETS-CBAM) transition to incentivise "massive" investment in decarbonisation.
