STRASBOURG (Reuters) -The European Commission will propose a new method to curb imports of steel from rivals to protect domestic producers, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
“Global overcapacity is squeezing margins and leaving little incentive to pay a clean premium. This makes it harder for Europe’s steel industry to invest in decarbonisation,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
“That is why the Commission will propose a new, long-term trade instrument to succeed the expiring steel safeguards,” she continued in her annual ‘state of the union’ address.
The bloc cannot prolong existing steel safeguards beyond mid-2026 under global grade rules. The Commission has previously said it will propose new measures by the end of the third quarter of this year.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett, writing by Philip Blenkinsop, Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout)
