The Federal Association of German Steel Processing and Waste Management Companies (BSV) and the Association of German Metal Dealers and Processors of Secondary Raw Materials (VDM) oppose the proposal of the European Steel and Metals Action Plan (SMAP) on possible restrictions on scrap metal exports, Kallanish reports. notes.
They refer to a recently published independent study on the impact of bans on the export of ferrous scrap, conducted by the Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences in Jena (see Kallanish passim).
It concludes that export barriers to recycled steel will distort markets, provoke retaliatory measures, and undermine security of supply to Europe – without strengthening the EU steel sector. Such measures would undermine both the European steel industry and global climate protection efforts.
Since the scrap metal trade is very sensitive to price changes, trade barriers can lead to a shift in trade flows away from Europe. Export barriers pose risks to trade policy, including retaliatory measures, the risk of restricting access to high-quality imports and reducing global scrap use, conclude the BSV and VDM.
The study shows that EU policy must address structural issues such as high energy costs, while accelerating sorting and pre-sorting, standardizing quality and certification, and supporting investments that improve the quality of recycled steel and stimulate market demand.
"This document confirms what recycling companies have been saying for a long time: export restrictions on recycled steel are the wrong tool," says Julia, Secretary General of the European Confederation of the Processing Industry (EuRIC). Ettinger. "The EU should focus on real solutions – reducing energy costs and investing in high-quality waste recycling - instead of resorting to protectionism."
"The European waste recycling industry is globally competitive," says Guido Lipinski, Managing Director of BSV. "Export restrictions will damage this competitiveness, while redirecting non-European trade flows will not have a positive impact on supplies to European consumers who are not at risk."
Svyatoslav Abrosimov Bulgaria
Kallanish.com
