2 March 2026 – Asian base metals showed positive movement with slight gains on Monday. EU ETS: calls for suspension are growing louder. Are stainless steel imports into the EU really rising – or what is a data provider trying to achieve by spreading false figures?
Base Metals Continue Positive
Asian base metals showed positive movement with slight gains on Monday. Aluminum in particular posted a notable rise of more than 3%. Hostilities in the Middle East had no apparent impact on market sentiment.
At the European LME, aluminum also benefited in early trading, gaining around 3%. Copper and nickel showed stable sideways movement.
EU ETS: Calls for Suspension Grow Louder
Italy last week called for a suspension of the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The industry minister stated that the system would need to be overhauled in its entirety and should be fully suspended in the meantime. With this, Italy, following Germany, which had previously called for significant amendments, has sent the strongest signal yet that the EU ETS, in force since 2005, cannot continue on its current trajectory. EU member Austria had already indicated that it would welcome the Italian proposal.
Resistance Against French Industrial Policy?
What appears to be emerging here is a strengthened Germany-Italy industrial policy alliance pushing back against French resistance. Following a series of protectionist initiatives introduced into the EU under French pressure, including steel tariffs, quotas, Buy European, and CBAM, which were in part fast-tracked by groupings close to French President Macron within the EU Parliament and the Commission, there now appears to be a concerted effort to put a stop to this.
Mercosur Agreement Pushed Through Against France’s Will
On Friday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen provisionally brought into force the free trade agreement with the Mercosur states, much to France’s displeasure. And the repeatedly delayed Industrial Accelerator Act, originating from the office of French Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, is already meeting with little enthusiasm, both within the Commission and among member states, even before its publication.
German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katharina Reiche has recently criticized the EU Commission’s industrial plans as “too complicated.“
Should the EU actually agree on a major overhaul of the EU ETS, this would inevitably also have implications for the carbon border tax CBAM, which would need to be adjusted to reflect the new conditions.
Commentary on MEPS Article: “Stainless Steel Imports Surge as CBAM Prompts EU Buyers to Diversify”
Particularly in difficult economic times, when we all depend on reliable and trustworthy data, it is all the more important that so-called “trade publications” or “industry experts” verify their figures before simply publishing them.
The article “Stainless steel imports surge as CBAM prompts EU buyers to diversify,” published by data provider MEPS on 27 February 2026, is evidently riddled with errors.
Neither the volumes of cold-rolled stainless steel cited by MEPS (Safeguard Tariff Rate Quotas Category 9) were actually imported, nor are the figures for imports from the stated countries of origin correct.
Reported Import Volumes Far Too High
For example, according to MEPS, more than 48,000 tonnes of stainless steel cold-rolled were allegedly imported from the United States up to 23 February 2026 – while the EU’s TRQ data shows only 411 tonnes for this origin. In the same quarter of the previous year, total imports from the US had amounted to only around 1,500 tonnes.
A more than glaring discrepancy, and by no means an isolated case within the article. The stated increase in total imported tonnage under Category 9 is likewise incorrect and, according to TRQ data, falls significantly below the import volumes of the same period in the prior year.
Misleading Statistics – Unhelpful and Dangerous
If one feels compelled to produce and report such statistics, they should at least be verified so as not to cause misrepresentation, and one would hope that was not the intention. One might almost be tempted to suspect a political motive. We consider such disinformation to be highly dubious and of little service to anyone.
Alternatively, someone may simply have done a copy-paste job from another, older article – as a screenshot demonstrates. But even then, the figures provided by the data analysts would still not be accurate. Or has the October edition of their “review” already been published in February 2026?
Latest news
- EU Steelmakers’ Demands Are Becoming Increasingly Brazen
- Slab Imports into the EU Surge Sharply
- SMEs Fight Back in Brussels: Thorsten Gerber Confronts the European Parliament with Uncomfortable Truths
We at the Gerber Group have been trading in stainless steel worldwide for over 20 years. We are your experts when it comes to purchasing, import, logistics and services. Information is a vital part of this. Because only then can you and we make the right decisions. Do you have any questions? Contact us now.
Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
