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Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation
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The steel industry welcomes the release of the recently proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) by the European Commission. The European Union needs strong legislation to achieve its ambitious objectives set in the Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan, which can improve its competitiveness on global markets and set an example to other economies. The success of this general framework legislation relies on numerous related delegated and implementing acts to be released, the revision of already existing ones and their mutual coherence. It will extend the scope to a wider range of products to strengthen the circularity criteria, to introduce new information requirements for products and to provide more sustainable information alongside sustainable products for customers on the European market. Living up to this ambition will require a sustained, coherent and forward-looking thrust from the European Commission. The European steel industry is ready to assist in that challenge.
Key areas are: harmonisation, requirements, digital product passport and substances of concern.
In conclusion, the European Commission proposal is an important but also challenging starting point towards the transition to the circular economy, which is a key contributor for achieving climate neutrality targets. However, its effectiveness will greatly rely on the new requirements with appropriate relevance for products levels in delegated acts and overall coherence of related legislation. Driving the transition to more sustainable products requires also the creation of lead markets, as well as incentivising them to keep the pace and motivate others, whilst harnessing the current potential from industry. The steel sector is looking forward to cooperating with the European Parliament and the European Council for enhancing the current text.
The full text of the position paper on the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is available below.
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Brussels, 07 May 2024 – The European Commission has today published two Regulations extending the anti-dumping and countervailing measures in force on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products (SSCR) originating in Indonesia to imports of SSCR from Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. EUROFER welcomes the extension of the duties and the introduction of import requirements connected to strict monitoring of imports.
The outlook for the European steel market in 2024 continues to lose momentum amidst persisting challenging conditions. Downside factors such as worsening geopolitical tensions, coupled with growing economic uncertainty, energy prices, inflation, interest rates have further impacted demand prospects. According to EUROFER’s latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook, these challenges have exacerbated the negative effects on apparent steel consumption, resulting in a more severe downturn in 2023 than previously projected (-9%, instead of -6.3%) and weaker growth in 2024 (+3.2%, instead of +5.6%). Output in steel-using sectors, despite showing more resilience than expected in the past year (+1.1%), is now set to decline (-1%). Imports are once again on the rise (+11% in the last quarter of 2023), capturing a staggering 27% market share throughout 2023.
Second quarter 2024 report. Data up to, and including, fourth quarter 2023