South Korean media: European steel industry urges EU to introduce "Trump-style tariffs"!
On October 5, South Korean media The Korea Herald published an article stating that the European steel industry urged the EU to adopt "Trump-style tariffs". The Trump administration currently imposes a 50% tariff on all imported steel products.
Due to the influx of low-cost products, the European steel industry is facing increasing difficulties. Rising energy prices have also increased production costs.
According to the Financial Times, Irs Hennig, chairman of the supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp Steel, said, "Without protective measures, the steel industry will not be able to survive."
According to the European Steel Association, an interest group representing EU steel manufacturers, the EU imported 28 million tons of steel last year. This number accounts for a quarter of the total steel sales in the EU.
As a result, during the past year alone, EU steel companies were forced to lay off 18,000 people.
When President Trump imposed a 50% tariff on all steel products entering the United States, the situation worsened further.
The EU expects that due to high tariffs, its exports to the US (a total of 3.8 million tons) will largely disappear each year.
On the other hand, Chinese steel, which has become difficult to export to the US, may flow into Europe.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also focus on key heavy industries such as the steel industry.
New safeguard measures are expected to be announced this month, but specific details have not been released yet.
The position of the European Steel Association is that steel products needed by the EU should be duty-free, but for imports exceeding a certain level, high tariffs should actually be imposed at a prohibitive level.
Previously, 11 EU member states, including France, proposed imposing a 50% tariff on steel imports exceeding a certain quota, thereby reducing import volumes by half.
According to the joint statement on the recent US-EU trade agreement, the US has agreed to consider a tariff quota for EU steel products, which would have the effect of reducing tariffs. However, the EU steel industry generally remains skeptical about the possibility of the US taking such measures.
In a recent letter to von der Leyen, the European Steel Association emphasized, "The likelihood of the US granting EU steel export quotas or exemptions in the short term is extremely low, and the steel industry is the worst-off among all industrial sectors in the EU."
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Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845144324331592/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.