Key issues include:
- filtering all countries that are either banned, sanctioned, subject to anti-dumping or countervailing measures, or simply do not export to the EU, the rule will leave only one real supplier outside the EU - POSCO in South Korea;
- this contradicts the goals of the EU on supply diversification and industrial sustainability.
The Association highlights the inconsistency in allowing unlimited imports of slabs from China and Indonesia, while targeting products melted and bottled there. This may increase the dependence of EU factories on the extractive industry.
Tracking system declared inoperable
The proposed rule is based on factory certificates, which EURANIMI calls unverifiable, easily changeable and disconnected from the physical product, as steel goes through several processing stages, making it impossible to confirm the origin of smelting and casting, service centers and merchants further weaken traceability, and inconsistent enforcement in 27 customs authorities risks a collapse of legal certainty.
Call for cancellation or postponement
EURANIMI calls on the European Commission to repeal the stainless steel melting and casting rule or, at a minimum, delay its implementation until an internationally recognized, tamper-proof tracking system is available.
