The European Steel Association (EUROFER) said in a position paper that the proposed Industrial Acceleration Act (IAA) is an important step towards supporting industrial decarbonization and creating leading markets for low-carbon steel in Europe. However, the association warned that the current proposal does not go far enough to guarantee demand for low-carbon steel produced in the EU.
The main criticism centers on the proposed origin criteria. According to EUROFER, the use of standard EU customs rules based on the "latest significant transformation" will allow imported semi-finished products such as slabs or hot-rolled coils to qualify as originating in the EU after limited further processing in Europe. The association argues that this could weaken the expected pull effect of demand for low-carbon steel produced domestically.
Mandatory EU rules of origin proposed
EUROFER calls for mandatory EU rules of origin for low-carbon steel used in public procurement and government support schemes.
In particular, the association wants steel-related requirements to be "first melted and poured" within the EU.
Imports could still dominate leading markets
The association stressed that more than 75 percent The EU's steel imports come from countries that have entered into free trade agreements with the EU. As a result, products from nearly 80 countries could potentially qualify as "Made in the EU" under the current proposal.
EUROFER warned that this could allow non-EU manufacturers to retain access to top EU markets at the expense of limited processing in countries such as Morocco, Turkey or Serbia.
Demand requirements considered insufficient
The paper also argues that the proposed supply of low carbon steel requirements is too limited to create meaningful demand.
As public procurement accounts for less than five percent of total steel demand, EUROFER considers that the Commission's proposed threshold of 25 percent will not provide a sufficient market signal. Therefore, the association proposed increasing the requirement to at least 50 percent low carbon
