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An EU industrial policy providing a strong business case for green investment in Europe
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A thriving European steel industry is crucial for the EU’s strategic autonomy and resilience. However, over the past decade, the EU has shifted from being a net steel exporter to a major net steel importer, losing 30 million tonnes of sales on the EU and export markets. Additionally, the EU steel industry has lost 26 million tonnes of steel production capacity and 25% of its workforce.
The EU is facing a new global reality. To ensure that the EU remains competitive in the middle of the greatest transformation of the industry towards climate-neutrality, it is essential to adopt disruptive thinking and innovative measures. Otherwise, competitors such as the US and China are likely to create a more attractive investment and production environment for green steel, further threatening the EU’s strategic autonomy. The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) alone will provide at least USD 85 billion of funding for steel production and upstream energy requirements.
Steel is essential for a climate-neutral economy. Renewables, hydrogen, wind and electric vehicles, are all dependent on steel. It is estimated that more than 74 million tons of steel will be required for the expansion of renewable energy generation alone, demonstrating that the foundations of the Net-zero Age are made of steel. A successful EU industrial policy requires a value chain-based approach, with steel at the core of the Green Deal Industry Plan and as an integral part of the Net-Zero Industry Act. To transition steel and other energy-intensive industries towards carbon neutrality and enhance circularity while ensuring the EU industry’s competitiveness is protected, the following enabling conditions are indispensable:
1. Access to sufficient and globally cost-competitive fossil-free energy and primary and secondary raw materials such as steel scrap, which is strategic.
2. Better tailored, more certain, clear and flexible funding and financial incentives across the EU are required, as well as faster processing of applications. Increased support for the roll-out of low-carbon steel projects rather than for research and innovation is necessary.
3. Establishment of lead markets for green steel and products (including low-CO2 steel); this could be achieved through public procurement, quotas, ambitious GHG thresholds or introduction of GHG pricing for final products based on their lifecycle emissions.
4. Trade policy that levels the playing field with global competitors:
It is also essential to prioritise and mainstream industrial policy and competitiveness while reducing regulatory burdens in all policy initiatives and legislative proposals, ensuring long-term predictability.
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Strasbourg, 07 October 2025 – The new trade measure presented today by the European Commission is a long-awaited proposal to forcefully defend the European steel sector, in full respect of WTO rules, from unfair imports flooding the EU market due to massive global overcapacity. The provisions unveiled by the Commission respond to the needs of the sector and represent a real lifeline for EU steelmakers and steelworkers. The European Parliament and the Council should therefore adopt it as a matter of urgency to enable its entry into force at the beginning of 2026, says the European Steel Association (EUROFER).
Brussels, 01/10/2025
With Europe’s steel industry at breaking point, industriAll Europe and the European Steel Association (EUROFER) held an emergency steel social summit to demand urgent action. Ahead of the announced Commission proposal addressing the impact of global steel excess capacity on the EU steel market, due by mid-October, the European social partners are united in calling for robust and effective trade measures. They also insist on fast and urgent implementation of the EU Steel and Metals Action Plan, especially concerning energy prices and demand. Maintaining the level of political ambition as promised in the EU Steel and Metals Action Plan is essential to restore steel’s competitiveness and save its green transition as well as steelworkers’ jobs across Europe.
Brussels, 19 September 2025 – Following today’s meeting between Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič and a delegation of European steel CEOs on the global steel crisis and the challenges facing the EU steel industry amid massive decarbonisation investments: