International trade is essential for the European economy, and steel products are among the most intensively traded products in the world. Around a quarter of the 160 million tonnes of steel used in the EU every year is imported - and the EU is also a major steel exporter.
Trade policy issues are of central importance to EUROFER, because free and fair international trade conditions are the basis for the stability of the EU steel market. EUROFER welcomes free trade agreements that open up mutually accessible markets between trade partners and ensures fair access to public procurement tenders.
In particular, EUROFER monitors - on an ongoing basis - trade flows to ensure that imports into the EU are coming on a fair basis and are not dumped, produced using unfair subsidies or circumventing existing trade defence measures.
Brussels, 4 March 2025 – The European Steel Association (EUROFER) welcomes the initiative of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convene a Strategic Dialogue on Steel. Today’s meeting, which brought together key representatives from across the steel value chain including EUROFER and its members, gives a much-needed foundation on which to develop industry-specific solutions with the Steel Action Plan expected to be published still this March.
Brussels, 27 February 2025 – The European Steel Association (EUROFER) welcomes the joint initiative of French Minister for Industry and Energy Marc Ferracci and Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso to convene a Ministerial Conference on the Future of the European Steel Industry in Paris today. This meeting complements initiatives at EU level by facilitating a pan-European assessment of the plight of the European steel sector and providing an additional opportunity to outline necessary solutions that will feed into the Steel Action Plan.
Brussels, 26 February 2025 – The Clean Industrial Deal, unveiled today by the European Commission, acknowledges the strategic role of the European steel industry and the existential challenges it faces. Yet, concrete solutions are either left open for later decisions, such as those on global steel overcapacity and loopholes in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), or addressed with incomplete measures, as in the case of energy prices. Without structural solutions to these issues, laudable initiatives on lead markets, local content and circular economy risk being insufficient to turn the tide, notes the European Steel Association (EUROFER).
The European Steel Association (EUROFER)
172 Avenue de Cortenbergh
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Email: mail@eurofer.eu
Phone: +32 (0) 2 738 79 20
