21 October 2025 – The European Union is the largest exporter of steel scrap in the world – that is the conclusion of a recently published analysis by the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC). The main reason: EU primary steel producers do not want scrap in their production.
EU is the world’s largest steel scrap exporter
According to the JRC’s new study, “EU Steel supply chain: Characterisation & use of EU steel scrap in relation to global trade dimensions“, the European Union has become the world’s largest exporter of steel scrap, holding a market share of 30%. In 2024, around 16.2 million tonnes of scrap were exported out of the EU, the analysts found.
No scrap shortage in the EU
The JRC clearly states that there is no potential scrap shortage in the European Union. Despite recurring political claims of scarcity, the data show the opposite: the EU exports millions of tonnes annually, simply because domestic demand is insufficient.
Too few consumers for steel scrap
There are several reasons for this significant level of export. The most important one: there are too few consumers of scrap among the 27 Member States.
A large part of crude steel in the EU is still produced via the CO₂-intensive primary steel route, which only allows for a very limited share of scrap in downstream converters. As a result, demand for scrap remains low.
Quality of EU scrap remains limited
Another factor is the limited quality of EU scrap. So-called Q3 and Q4 grades, conventional post-consumer and low-quality scrap, account for around 72% of all scrap generated in the Union.
This means that most of the recycled material is not suitable for primary steel producers, who reject it for quality reasons. Producers of automotive steel, for example, cannot use such material because of its high copper content.
This is also reflected in trade data: only 4% of exports consist of high-quality pre-consumer scrap, while the majority is made up of lower-grade scrap.
Copper in steel scrap: a long-known issue
The presence of copper in steel scrap is a long-known but often politically ignored problem. Many EU primary steelmakers, especially those producing for the automotive industry, must comply with strict limits on copper content to maintain product quality.
Export restrictions would harm recycling businesses
As long as the quality of EU scrap does not improve and copper levels remain high, exports will stay elevated. Therefore, restricting scrap exports makes little to no sense, it would only harm the business model of small and medium-sized recycling companies across Europe.
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