This event took place on 16 November.
The EU is at a crossroads, having suffered a sharp economic and social hit in recent months. The European Commission predicts a drop in EU GDP of 7.5 per cent in 2020. However, even in 2019, there were signs of underlying frailty in the EU economy.
Despite this, the EU has ambitious plans for its future, aiming to go green, digital and high-tech. But the global challenges remain the same: third countries taking advantage of the EU’s open borders and markets whilst refusing to share the same high ambition to decarbonise by 2050. EU trade policy is thus under pressure. It must evolve to meet rising competition abroad while giving the space for EU companies to
survive, thrive and go green.
This recession will have severe effects on global supply chains, especially if countries around the world seek to dump products on world markets to make up for a loss of local demand.
Join this EURACTIV Virtual Conference, supported by EUROFER, to discuss the crossroads we find ourselves at. If Europe is to thrive, how can EU trade be ready for a vastly different global future? How will industries, such as steel, fare? Questions to be discussed:
How can the multilateral trade framework be strengthened to ensure stability, predictability and a rules-based environment for fair and sustainable trade for EU companies?
16 November, 2020 - online.
14:30 – 14:35 Welcome
14:35 – 14:50 Panelists statements
14:50 – 15:40 Discussion and Q&A
15:40 – 15:45 Closing statements
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Brussels, 07 December 2023 – The inclusion of transformative industrial technologies for the decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors, such as steel, in the list of net-zero technologies in the general approach adopted by the Council on the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), sends a positive signal at a crucial time when governments are deliberating urgent measures to protect the climate at COP28 in Dubai. Parliament and Council should now seize the opportunity to reach an ambitious agreement to promote EU-made green products in public auctions of net-zero technologies and to drive Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) in Europe. Promoting lead markets and CCUS are essential tools for sustaining the transition to low-carbon steelmaking, says the European Steel Association.
Brussels, 01 December 2023 – Further delays in implementing EU sanctions against Russian steel semifinished products would have a perverse effect, ultimately fuelling Putin’s war machine against Ukraine. The EU Council should reject additional exemption requests from a few member states defending the lucrative business model of few steel rerollers. The trade dynamic that takes advantage of cheap steel imported from Russia while aiding the supply to its military and related downstream sectors must come to an end, states the European Steel Association.
Industriall & EUROFER joint statement