EU softens 'Buy European’ requirement: German sources
The new version of the European Union's draft Law on Accelerating Industrial Production (IAA) has excited German metallurgists, as it suggests that environmentally friendly steel can be produced outside the EU.
The Handelsblatt and Spiegel reports say they have received a project that no longer includes steel in the list of materials or services to be supplied in the European Union for public tenders. The project does include a requirement for "environmentally friendly, low-emission steel," but it does not require buying it locally.
In a social media post seen by Callanish, thyssenkrupp Steel's head of European affairs, Julian Schorpp, expressed concern, asking: "Is the EU going to violate its own clean industry agreement?".
The latest leak contradicts the basic logic of the Clean Industrial deal itself, which aims to accelerate the decarbonization process in Europe by increasing demand for environmentally friendly products produced in the EU, Schorpp writes.
He points to the planned investments of European enterprises in the interests of technical transition. "Leading markets that stimulate consumption without strengthening European production will weaken investment incentives, delay projects and increase the risk of building new low-carbon facilities outside the EU."
Obviously, the new project will meet the requirement formulated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week, which the German steel industry did not like.
Merz proposed changing the "Made in Europe" rule to "Made with Europe" to allow international trading partners to also supply environmentally friendly steel.
In a separate interview with Spiegel magazine, Marie Yaroni, CEO of thyssenkrupp Steel, notes that such an adjustment could potentially attract 70 countries with which the EU maintains trade partnerships.
In the same vein, Schorpp points out that the IAA project, excluding steel, will affect imports. "CBAM, meanwhile, will encourage foreign producers to supply their purest steel to the EU market," he says.
Author: Christian Kel
Kallanish.com