Gerber Steel warns that EU competitiveness is under threat as internal barriers and bureaucracy hit SMEs

German stainless steel distributor Gerber Steel has warned that Europe's industrial competitiveness is approaching a critical point, citing rising costs, expanding bureaucracy and structural barriers in the EU single market.

According to the company's latest analysis, the key problem for the European industry is not external competition, but the growing burden of regulatory fragmentation, administrative requirements and non-tariff barriers between member states. It is estimated that these factors act as domestic tariffs ranging from 65 to 100 percent.

Torsten Gerber, CEO of Gerber Steel, said that the single market is in a state of stagnation, while production costs and prices continue to rise. He argued that protective measures such as tariffs, quotas, and provenance requirements often increase the cost of creating European value rather than protecting it from external competition, and the additional costs are ultimately passed on to businesses and consumers in the EU.

Small and medium-sized enterprises face disproportionate impact

The company emphasized that small and medium-sized enterprises are most affected by these events. Unlike large multinational companies, small and medium-sized enterprises have limited capacity to cover higher regulatory compliance costs or relocate production to more favorable locations.

Gerber Steel noted that although policy measures are often evaluated individually, their cumulative effect creates structural cost pressures and uncertainty throughout