German Vice Chancellor calls for early termination of imports of steel slabs from Russia
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil called for immediate action to halt imports of Russian rolled steel, stressing the need for tougher measures against Russia ahead of the upcoming November 6 steel summit.
"During the dialogue on the steel industry with industry representatives, we will discuss the solutions we need now: lower energy prices, primarily by raising prices for industrial electricity, and better protection for our domestic industry," said Klingbeil, who is also Germany's finance minister.
"We must prioritize the use of locally produced steel in key sectors such as our infrastructure and the automotive industry. In addition, it is necessary to quickly and completely stop importing steel from Russia. Steel plates produced in Russia and further processed in the EU are still not subject to sanctions," he added, according to a statement released by the German Finance Ministry.
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue on November 3.
"Despite the comprehensive EU sanctions, Russian steel companies are still allowed to supply semi-finished products to the EU on a large scale, which has serious consequences for steel producers in Germany and across Europe," Kerstin Maria Rippel, Director General of the German Steel Federation, said on November 3.
"Given the significant import crisis currently facing the European steel industry, this exception is completely incomprehensible," she said, adding that "this loophole must be closed either by sanctions or by the current EU tariffs on Russian slabs."
"This would be legally possible, even without achieving unanimity among all Member States. The German government must now take a clear position in Brussels and exert decisive pressure," she said.
In December 2023, the EU allowed the import of Russian steel slabs to continue as part of a phased reduction that will last until September 2028.
The decision, taken as part of the 12th package of European Union sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, allows for the import of a total quota of 10.9 million tons of Russian slabs from September 2024 to September 2028, with an annual reduction in permitted volumes.
According to the European Commission's website, from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, about 2.998 million tons of slabs will be allowed to be imported from Russia, of which about 500,000 tons have already been produced.
On October 29, the Platts agency, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, estimated the Black Sea slabs at an FOB price of