Higher costs for manufacturers
The measures the European Commission wants to take to protect the European steel industry from foreign competition go too far. That’s according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). According to the interest group, the proposal will lead to higher production and administrative costs for car manufacturers.
The Commission announced on Tuesday that it wants to halve the import quotas for steel and double the import tariff outside the quotas. This is to prevent the European market from being flooded with cheap steel, especially from China. In this way, Brussels wants to protect European steel manufacturers.
ACEA states that car manufacturers obtain approximately 90 percent of their steel purchases directly from Europe, but that steel products still have to be imported. According to the organization, the quotas for automotive steel are always quickly exhausted under the current system. This means that significantly more will have to be paid for steel that falls outside the quota in the future.
ACEA also points to the new rule regarding the origin of steel through the principle of melting and casting. With this, the Commission wants to better trace the origin of remelted steel in order to prevent circumvention of the measures.
According to ACEA, this leads to a major administrative burden for importers. The Commission must understand the complexity of applying this rule in the deep and global supply chains, according to the organization. ACEA wants sector-specific measures for steel importers.
“We do not dispute the need for some degree of protection for a raw materials industry such as steel,” said ACEA Director General Sigrid de Vries. “We need to find a better balance between the needs of European producers and users of steel.”