Luca Zanotti, CEO of the Ukrainian industrial company INTERPIPE, believes that Ukraine needs to be exempted from steel quotas as part of a new EU trade event.
"We are not only looking for diplomacy," he said during a video interview with the American edition of Politico, recalling that the three main institutions of the European Union agreed that Ukraine is a special case that is entitled to trade privileges after a full–scale invasion of Russia in 2022.
"There is a specific wording regarding the fact that Ukraine is facing an"exceptional and immediate security situation," and this leads to a special status," he said.
Zanotti also said: "There are forces in Europe that have a strong political intention to distort the spirit and wording" of the laws concerning Ukraine.
According to him, if the EU introduces quotas for Ukraine, where steel production has decreased by 80% compared to the figures before 2022, it will be "a very difficult step back."
The EU will double the import duty on steel from July 1 to 50%. At the same time, the quota that allows certain quantities to be imported tax-free will be reduced by almost half.
