Riegel/Strasbourg, 18 December 2024 – The Gerber Group warns Members of the European Parliament that the European Commission’s newly launched review of the EU Safeguard Measure on certain steel products risks deepening the crisis for millions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and jeopardizing over 11.5 million direct jobs in the steel processing industry.
EU Safeguard Review Puts 11.5 Million Industrial Jobs at Risk
“The current safeguard and protectionist policies benefit only a handful of large steel producers while punishing SMEs, distorting trade flows, and driving inflation,” said Thorsten Gerber, CEO of the internationally active Gerber Group. “The Commission must not repeat past mistakes by again ignoring the interests of SMEs.”
Past safeguard decisions have systematically favored steelmaker oligopolies
The Commission claims the review is meant to serve “all stakeholders.” However, past safeguard decisions have systematically favored steelmaker oligopolies while neglecting the economic backbone of Europe: its SMEs. In 2023 alone, the EU maintained 67 trade defense measures targeting steel imports. This protectionism has forced SMEs to scramble for alternative suppliers in a market where domestic producers often cannot or will not deliver essential materials.
Gerber emphasizes that even a 1% drop in employment in the steel processing sector would result in 115,000 job losses. “This is not theoretical. It’s already happening,” he said, citing Germany’s recent loss of 320,000 jobs, largely from its Mittelstand.
The Gerber Group calls for the immediate end of the Safeguard Measure, an overhaul of CBAM with real SME protections, and equal access to EU subsidies currently funneled into steel industry giants. “If SMEs fall, Europe falls,” Gerber concluded.
Gerber Group urges the European Parliament to stop protecting monopolies and start protecting jobs.
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