Germany's big steelmakers call for swift implementation of EU action plan
DUSSELDORF, April 7 (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) (TKAG.DE), opens new tab and Salzgitter (SZGG.DE), opens new tab on Monday called for the EU Commission's action plan to be implemented as swiftly as possible to shield the sector from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff measures.
"Europe must not be left defenceless in the face of growing import pressure," said Gunnar Groebler, CEO of Salzgitter, Germany's second-largest steelmaker, in a statement.
Groebler said the EU needed to act decisively while also keeping dialogue with the U.S. open.
TKSE, Germany's largest steelmaker, said the plan was an "important impetus" to strengthen the ailing sector's competitiveness as well as decarbonise it.
The "current geopolitical situation" made its implementation all the more urgent, said Dennis Grimm, TKSE executive board spokesperson, in a statement to Reuters.
In addition, the introduction of binding minimum quotas for "European content" in private and public procurement should be emphasized in order to strengthen domestic markets, he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a call with metals industry representatives on Monday and was speaking to the automobile sector later.
The calls aimed to collect data for further counter-measures beyond Brussels' upcoming response to Washington's steel duties, which will be voted on later this week.
The 27-nation EU bloc faces 25% import tariffs on steel and aluminium and cars.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Musk: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election'
By Published: Updated: Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's spectacular falling out quickly turned personal Thursday as the world's richest man claimed the president would have lost the 2024 election without his help. Musk had publicly endorsed Trump on the heels of the July 13th assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania and poured around $290 million of his fortune into the Republican's campaign. The billionaire also joined Trump on the campaign trail when he returned to the site of the Butler shooting in early October, a month before Election Day. Trump said he likely still would have won the key state of Pennsylvania without Musk's assistance, partly because Kamala Harris didn't choose the state's governor, Josh Shapiro, to be her running mate. Even with Shapiro on the Democratic ticket, Trump claimed, 'I would have won Pennsylvania, I would have won by a lot.' Musk said that was laughable. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk claimed. 'Such ingratitude,' the billionaire added on X. Musk's comments came moments after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit, that his bromance with the DOGE leader was likely over. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more, I was surprised,' Trump said. The president suggested that Musk was angry - not over the bill ballooning the deficit - but because the Trump administration has pulled back on electric vehicle mandates, which negatively impacted Tesla. He also indicated that there was a problem when he rejected Musk's preferred nominee to lead NASA because his choice was a Democrat. 'And you know, Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles, and they're having a hard time the electric vehicles and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,' Trump said. 'I know that disturbed him.' Shares of Tesla dipped 8 percent amid the spat. Over the weekend, Trump pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman had worked alongside Musk at SpaceX. 'He recommended somebody that I guess he knew very well, I'm sure he respected him, to run NASA and I didn't think it was appropriate and he happened to be a Democrat, like totally Democrat,' Trump continued. 'We won, we get certain privileges and one of the privileges is we don't have to appoint a Democrat.' Musk posted to X repeatedly as Trump's press conference was going on. 'Whatever,' the billionaire wrote, as he continued to criticize what Trump has called his 'big, beautiful' spending bill. 'Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,' he advised. 'In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that [is] both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!' Musk continued. 'Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.' In the Oval Office, Trump insisted that Musk knew the contents of the bill before the House passed it. Trump is now pushing Republican senators to back it so he can sign it before the July 4 holiday. 'He became a little bit different. I can understand that. But he knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left,' Trump protested. Musk immediately pushed back on X - sharing the clip of Trump's comments. 'False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' Musk said. At the top of Musk's X profile on Thursday, the billionaire had pinned a tweet that said 'Wise words,' highlighting a Trump tweet from 2013 that said, 'I cannot believe the Republicans are extending the debt ceiling—I am a Republican & I am embarrassed!' Trump noted that until recently Musk had 'said the most beautiful things about me.' Trump said Musk's about-face represented a greater trend. 'People leave my administration and they love us and then, at some point, they miss it so badly. And some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile. I don't know what it is, it's sort of Trump Derangement Syndrome, I guess they call it,' the president said. 'They leave, they wake up in the morning and the glamour is gone, the whole world is different and they become hostile.' The president's comments come less than a week after he feted Musk in the Oval Office, giving him an official farewell as the billionaire moved out of special government employee status and back into the private sector. Trump noted that he had given Musk a 'wonderful send-off' on Friday before he headed to Pittsburgh to tout a steel deal between Nippon and U.S. Steel. 'Remember, he was here for a long time. You saw a man who was very happy. He stood behind the Oval desk. Even with a black eye,' Trump said. 'I said, "do you want a little makeup?" And he said, "No I don't think so," which was interesting.' 'And very nice,' Trump added. 'He wants to be who he is,' the president shrugged.
Reuters
10 minutes ago
- Reuters
Israeli military says it will strike Beirut's southern suburbs
CAIRO, June 5 (Reuters) - The Israeli military on Thursday told residents of four neighborhoods in Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate ahead of strikes on what it said were underground Hezbollah drone-manufacturing sites, and thousands fled. The evacuation warning, published on X, was the first such warning in over a month for the suburbs, which were hit hard in the year-long war that ended in a ceasefire in November. Residents rushed to leave the area, causing traffic gridlock. "Despite the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, the IDF has identified that the Hezbollah aerial unit is operating to produce thousands of UAVs, with the direction and funding of Iranian terrorists," the army added in a statement, using acronyms for the Israel Defense Forces and drones. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. A U.S.-brokered truce in November halted the fighting between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel. Each side accuses the other of not entirely living up to its terms, and the ceasefire has looked shaky in recent months.
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Massachusetts high school student should be released, US immigration judge rules
BOSTON, June 5 (Reuters) - A Massachusetts high school student who was arrested during the weekend by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on his way to volleyball practice was ordered released on a $2,000 bond on Thursday. A lawyer for Marcelo Gomes Da Silva said the decision by Immigration Judge Jenny Beverly in Chelmsford cleared the way for the 18-year-old to return home to his family in the Boston suburb of Milford and be released from immigration custody following his Saturday arrest during a traffic stop. The detention of the Brazilian, who arrived in the United States when he was 5 on a now-lapsed visa, prompted protests in Massachusetts as the incident became a flashpoint in Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to ramp up immigration arrests and deportations. Classmates gathered outside the immigration court celebrated after word of the judge's decision reached them. "We are thrilled that Marcelo soon will be back home with his family and community," Miriam Conrad, one of his lawyers, said in an email. "But this shows how pointless and cruel the arrest was in the first place." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Milford High School junior had been driving his father's vehicle when he was arrested by ICE following a traffic stop, the agency's acting director, Todd Lyons, told reporters on Monday. ICE officials said Gomes was not the target of the investigation that led to his arrest, and that authorities instead were seeking his father, who has not been arrested. "He's in this country illegally, and we're not going to walk away from anybody," Lyons told reporters. In response to a lawsuit alleging he was unlawfully detained, U.S. District Judge George O'Toole issued an order, opens new tab barring immigration authorities from transferring Gomes out of Massachusetts without 48 hours' notice. The lawsuit said that Gomes entered the United States on a student visa in 2012. While his visa status has lapsed, the lawsuit said he intends to apply for asylum.
