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 June 2025 – With U.S. blanket tariffs now raised to 50%, the only way to avoid the further erosion of the European steel market and another blow to European steelmakers is the swift implementation of the “highly effective trade measure” promised by the European Commission in its Steel and Metals Action Plan. A negotiated solution between the EU and the U.S. is also vital to preserve EU steel exports to the U.S., warns the European Steel Association.
Brussels, 8 May 2025 – Seventy-five years ago, on 9 May 1950, the Schuman Declaration laid the foundation for European unity, placing coal and steel at the heart of a unique peace project that has brought unparalleled prosperity across the continent and beyond. As the EU commemorates this milestone, the fate of Europe’s steel industry will once again determine Europe’s future.
Brussels, 2 April 2025 - The latest data unveiled by the OECD in its meeting in Paris draw an extremely worrying picture, where global steel excess capacity is expected to grow from an estimated 602 million tonnes in 2024 to 721 million tonnes by 2027 – over five times the EU's steel production. The European steel industry - already severely hit by the spill-over effects of global overcapacity and the U.S. steel import tariffs - reiterates the crucial need for strict and effective EU post-safeguard measures to ensure its survival.
The European Steel Association (EUROFER)
172 Avenue de Cortenbergh
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Email: mail@eurofer.eu
Phone: +32 (0) 2 738 79 20
