Metal producers within the European Union urge the block to implement export tasks or restrictions on scrap ships.
This thrust, expected “in the coming weeks”, aims to counter a significant increase in exports to the United States, a trend attributed to trade policies of the Trump administration, according to a Reuters report.
Due to a 50% tariff imposed by American President Donald Trump on imported steel and aluminum, the demand for scrap without tariff has increased, resulting in considerably inflated prices.
This situation arouses a concern among producers of European metals, who now warn against a shortage of scrap metal and a disruption of their carbon emission strategies.
To limit the outputs, the EU is urged by the aluminum industry to implement export authorization measures, a tactic previously used only during the Pandemic COVID-19 for protective equipment and vaccine exports.
Export rates have an alternative solution.
The director general of the Eurofer, Axel Eggert, stressed that “scrap metal is an important problem”.
Eggert would have been quoted in the Reuters report:
We ask for an export right on scrap.
He also pointed out that most non -European producing countries had set up restrictions.
Imports and exports
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To support the objectives of reducing EU carbon emissions in the metal industry, the scrap is crucial.
The European Commission stresses that recycling aluminum saves up to 95% of the energy required for its production and 80% for steel.
In the first quarter of 2025, US imports of EU scrap metal reached 6,028 metric tonnes, almost tripling compared to the previous year, according to European aluminum.
This significant increase, although from a low starting point, represents a transformation of a minor flow into a substantial flow.
Overall, EU aluminum scrap exports reached 345,000 metric tonnes in the first quarter of this year.
The United States now retaining more from its scrap, the EU is about to become the main export region.
The trade agreement to take time
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EU metal producers have long considered scrap exports as an increasing concern, even preceding the imposition of primary steel and aluminum imports by Trump, which aimed to stimulate American national production.
In 2023, a record of 19 million tonnes of ferrous pieces was exported from the EU, Turkey being the main destination.
Other important destinations included India, Egypt, Pakistan and the United States, as reported by the European European Steel Association.
Paul Voss, European aluminum chief, said that metal producers could not afford to wait for the block to finalize a trade agreement with Trump.
European officials have indicated that a full agreement may not be achievable on Trump’s deadline.
Export authorizations had not been used before in this way, but extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary action, added Voss, arguing for measures in the coming weeks.
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The EU, an ardent defender of free trade, rarely imposes export restrictions.
Historically, these controls were limited to measures related to pandemic, weapons shipments, double -use products with military applications and goods intended for sanctioned countries.
The European Commission actively engages with metal producers and recyclers to assess the market.
A determination on the question of whether commercial measures are necessary in steel, aluminum and copper in the third quarter.
American metal producers were encouraged by prices to maximize their domestic scrap purchases and explore markets abroad.
According to industry players, a temporary price difference of around $ 750 per tonne, known as “arbitration window”, appeared due to the 50%price.
Rob Van Gils, CEO of Austria Halerminium Industries, said in the report:
If this arbitration window remains, we will see massive damage to companies that have invested the most in the green agreement.
He referred to the EU green policy program, which aims to guide the block towards the neutrality of carbon emissions by 2050.
Van Gils highlighted a potential challenge for companies that depend on scrap purchases.
He said that if local scrap costs are approaching or exceeding the price of the final product market, these companies can be forced to get primary metal in other countries, such as India, leading to an increase in carbon emissions.
European scrap sellers are against export restrictions. According to Eric, the recycling industry group, Europe has no shortage of scrap.
They declare that the demand for EU steel represents only about 80% of the available supply.
