BRUSSELS (Reuters) -A new EU plan to sharply cut steel import quotas goes too far and threatens European automakers with higher input and administrative costs, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said on Wednesday.
ACEA said European carmakers source about 90% of their direct steel purchases in the EU and were “most concerned” about the inflationary impact of tighter restrictions on steel imports.
The European Commission proposed on Tuesday cutting tariff-free steel import quotas by almost half along with a doubling of the out-of-quota duty to 50% in a bid to preserve viable steelmakers in the European Union.
The proposal will still need approval from EU governments and the European Parliament.
“We do not contest the need for some level of protection for a commodity industry like steel, but we feel that the parameters as proposed by the Commission go too far in ring-fencing the European market,” ACEA Director General Sigrid de Vries said in a statement.
ACEA said automakers still needed to import certain quantities and qualities of steel, adding automotive grades had always been rapidly exhausted under the current quota system.
The auto group also questioned a requirement for importers to identify where the initial steel of their product had been melted and poured, a rule designed to prevent circumvention. It said this would be very complex in a deep, global supply chain such as automotive.
“We need to find a better balance between the needs of European producers and users of steel in this measure,” it said.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in BrusselsEditing by Matthew lewis)
