European steel association Eurofer has asked the European Commission to implement an out-of-quota tariff of 50pc in its post safeguard measure, while reducing duty-free volumes by 50pc, Italian steelmaker Arvedi chief executive Mario Arvedi Caldonazzo told the Global Steel Dynamics Forum in New York late yesterday.
"We need to adopt a strict and severe trade defence measure," Caldonazzo said, adding that discussions with the commission were ongoing, and that it would publish a proposal on the measures that would replace the safeguard in mid-July.
Eurofer, of which Caldonazzo is vice-president, wants these measures to come into play in January 2026, earlier than the planned lapse of the current safeguard mechanism in June 2026. Imports have reached as much as 30pc of total supply on some products, at much lower prices than domestic production.
"The commission is aware this is the move that will determine the future of the European industry," he said.
Eurofer hopes the commission will make its proposal regarding a melt-and-pour clause in September-October, and that scrap will be recognised as a critical raw material. Caldonazzo said the EU exports 20mn t of scrap that is transformed into steel products then sold back to Europe, and that more material being retained could help mills increase scrap usage and reduce their carbon footprint.
The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) also needs to be extended downstream to address the risk of circumvention, and also that "resource shuffling" is addressed. This is where mills use a portion of greener production to sell into the EU at a lower payable tax, while retaining more carbon intensive sales into other markets.
"Without these measures the future will be very sad," Caldonazzo said, adding that the EU could just end up importing and re-rolling semi-finished steel. Lourenco Goncalves, the outspoken head of Cleveland-Cliffs, said in another presentation that the EU would eliminate its carbon emissions by ceasing to produce steel.
Talks over the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum (GASA) should be restarted, building a free trade agreement between the US and EU, allowing both to expand trade on a duty and quota free basis, Caldonazzo said. This would be possible should the EU have similar trade defence measures to the US, such as a melt and pour.
On the sidelines of the conference he told Argus there will be no recovery in the EU market this year, given the disparity between imports and domestic prices, and the very low level of demand.
