The ongoing – and possibly escalating - trade war between the EU and U.S. is a worry for the steel industry. CGTN’s Natalie Carney visited a German steelworks to ask the experts.
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NewsTranscript
00:00U.S. tariffs of 25% on all EU steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, taking aim
00:07at an industry already dealing with increased competition and higher energy costs.
00:12The industrial situation in Europe is very bad. We have a very weak industrial performance
00:18in Europe at the moment, which is why the steel industry is already under pressure.
00:23There are certain overcapacities in Europe, and this pressure, which of course is now
00:28Here at the Bentelev steel factory in northwest Germany, more than 2,000 tons of billets and
00:36slabs are produced daily, mostly for the European market. But some does go to the U.S., yet
00:43they are more concerned about steel from other countries also hit by the tariffs, flooding
00:47the EU.
00:57In response, the European Commission called these tariffs illegal and economically counterproductive
01:08and has announced that it will impose counter tariffs of $28 billion worth of U.S. goods
01:14from next month. However, the Commission has also said that it remained open to negotiations,
01:20a position many German steel manufacturers such as Bentelev also support.
01:27The German economy, the EU and the German government should not enter into a tariff
01:34competition, because that would ultimately slow down the economy. I think we should
01:40enter into talks with the U.S. to find good solutions for both, for the EU, for Germany,
01:48for the U.S.
01:49According to the European Union Industry Association, around 4 million tons of steel were exported
01:54to the U.S.A. from the EU in 2023, with a fourth of that coming from Germany alone.
02:01Natalie Carney for CGTN in Lingen.