The boss of one of Ukraine’s greatest metal corporations has called on the European Union to drop import restrictions on merchandise made from the nation, arguing it has been “bundled together” in measures aimed a curbing low-cost imports from the likes of China.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, chief govt of Metinvest, informed the BBC the recently-imposed tariffs on imported metal to the EU were “unfair” and had been put in place “without any consideration for the situation Ukraine is in”.
He said he wished to see “at least a carve out” for Ukraine to access the EU market.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said the EU “took into account the difficult situation” of Ukraine when deciding its metal coverage.
The trading bloc has not too long ago imposed restrictions on metal imports in an effort to shield metal producers of member nations.
It has capped the quantity of metal which can enter the EU tax free at 18.3 million tonnes per yr – a 47% discount from 2024 ranges.
There are some country-specific quotas in the coverage, but the general goal is to cut the quantity of metal that can be imported due to member nations struggling to compete with low-cost imports from the likes of China and Turkey.
Despite a free-trade settlement (FTA) being in place between the EU and Ukraine, the FTA does not stop the EU from introducing separate commerce safety measures.
“Ukraine has been bundled together into those measures without any consideration for the situation Ukraine is in,” Ryzhenkov said, pointing to the battle with Russia.
“Access to the European market is crucial for survival,” he added. “The restrictive measures that have been put in place by the authorities in the European Union, they don’t help.
“I think it’s unfair that Ukraine has been handled in the same method as all of the other importers into the European Union.”
The Ukraine steel industry estimates steel exports to the EU could ultimately fall by about 50–60%.
The EU said Ukraine’s specific steel quota guaranteed exports of the metal, but acknowledged this was at a “stage decrease than in the previous years”.
“Despite the battle effort, Ukraine stays an important exporter of metal to the EU,” a spokesperson said, adding it had “provided compensations” to its largest suppliers, which included Ukraine.
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