CBAM and unfair competition: European manufacturers protest against the EU

Around a hundred representatives from the European manufacturing sector gathered in Brussels outside the Berlaymont, the headquarters of the European Commission, for the ‘European Convoy for Industrial Competitiveness’ demonstration. The initiative was organised by Eurometal, the organisation representing European steel distribution, processing and manufacturing companies, and set off from the Schuman roundabout, bringing ten lorries loaded with empty crates right up to the EU executive’s headquarters: a way of symbolising the production capacity and know-how which, according to the organisers, Europe risks losing. Upon arrival, the demonstrators sounded their horns for several minutes.

Eurometal’s president, Alexander Julius, explained the rationale behind the protest: European manufacturers are already bearing the costs of carbon emissions, trade defence measures and tariffs, whilst many imported manufactured goods enter the EU market without facing equivalent obligations. For this reason, he said, what is needed are a level playing field for all, not subsidies. The same point was reiterated by Franco Felisa, managing director of Trancerie Emiliane and president of ESN: “We are not asking for aid, tax breaks or funding, but we need clear rules that allow us to compete globally, first and foremost here in Europe.”

The event was also attended by Elena Donazzan, MEP for Fratelli d’Italia and vice-chair of the European Parliament’s ITRE Committee. According to Donazzan, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism currently protects only steel as a primary product, leaving out downstream goods in the supply chain, on which 13.6 million workers in the steel-related sector depend. Donazzan cited an 80 per cent price differential between a Chinese semi-finished product and its European counterpart. Industrialists are therefore calling for the protection afforded by the CBAM to be extended to the entire supply chain and for ‘Made in Europe’ criteria to be introduced, without resorting to direct subsidies.