Chief competition from China has long been seen as a problem in Europe. Why is the industry considered so worth protecting? And what about the domestic manufacturers?
The EU Commission proposes new measures to protect the European steel industry. What are the reasons for this? How big is the competition from China manufacturer? And what is the importance of the industry for the economy in Germany and in other countries in Europe?
Why is European steel such a big topic?
Anyone who talks about industry usually also talks about steel. To date, the multifunctional material is in numerous central everyday goods – from cars to houses to railway lines and now also wind turbines. The steel industry is correspondingly important as a supplier industry for various other industrialectors in the EU.
Steel is also considered important from a geostrategic point of view. How dependent on such a central material for industry does you want to make supplements from abroad? In other industries such as pharmaceutical or semiconductors, you have noticed in recent years how big the international dependencies are – and how blackmail can do that. There are also numerous jobs in the industry. In Germany in particular, it is often well -paid jobs. Most recently, almost 90,000 people worked for industry here. There are also many jobs in further processing.
How is Europe’s steel industry currently?
The EU is the second largest steel producer worldwide – to Asia. However, European steel accounts for just 14 percent of global steel production. In Asia, on the other hand, almost three quarters of global raw steel are produced, according to the European Economic Association of Eurofer in the annual report 2025. China itself is a leader in Asia, but India also has some huge steel companies. Germany is the largest steel producer within the EU.
Overall, the production of steel in the EU is declining. If around 170 million tons of raw steel were made in Europe in 2010, only around 130 million tons were left in 2024, according to Eurofer. In recent years, demand has dropped in the EU. However, industry experts assume that it is likely to rise again.
How is the German steel industry?
The industry is in crisis mode. In the first half of 2025, raw steel production in Germany fell by almost twelve percent to 17.1 million tons compared to the same period last year – and after a very weak year 2024.
In general, the industry is struggling with falling demand because of the economic flaut in recent years. There are also high energy prices that make European steel expensive – and companies complain about dumping competition from Asia. It could even increase if China redirects even more cheap steel due to the increased US tariffs to the EU.
Why does the EU use the higher tariffs?
In response to the first customs increase to 25 percent during the first term of the first term of US President Donald Trump, the EU Zölle introduced the same amount. However, these will expire next year if it is not controlled.
But a mere extension has long been unlikely. Because the EU-USA customs deal generally provides for a customs level of 15 percent. However, European steel is not explicitly one of them and is proven with tariffs of 50 percent on the part of the United States. Trump also argued that they wanted to protect the domestic economy. The EU now wants to react to this development.
In addition, the – unfair – from the EU’s point of view – there is competition by China. According to critics, the country produces too much steel and also presses the price using state subsidies. In the past, several investigations by the EU Commission came to the conclusion that Chinese imports even reached the EU market at prices below the production costs-such as tin-coated or organically coated steel. There are therefore already increased anti-dumping tariffs for these special product categories.
What does the industry say?
The steel industry has been calling for decisive measures from the EU for a long time. Central concern are not only the new US tariffs, but also that as a result, even more cheaper steel from China will be redirected to the EU.
“It is of crucial importance that the revised protective measures of the EU for steel are robust and effective in order to counteract a further detour of steel imports that flood the EU market immediately and determined.
