19 August 2025 – The anti-dumping measure against Vietnamese stainless steel adopted in July is contributing to a significant shortage of stainless steel on the South Korean market. German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) with excessive demands regarding a possible EU safeguard successor. Is this a violation of the legal requirement for the Chambers of Commerce and Industry to represent the overall interests of all German businesses?
South Korea: AD measure against Vietnamese stainless steel leads to supply shortage
After South Korea finally announced anti-dumping measures against cold-rolled stainless steel imports from Vietnam in July 2025, imports from there have almost come to a standstill. Together with extensive maintenance work at a large South Korean stainless steel rolling mill, this has now led to a significant shortage of certain grades of stainless steel on the local market and to price increases.
Is Taiwan now planning anti-dumping investigations against Vietnam?
According to media reports, Taiwanese stainless steel manufacturers are now also pushing for anti-dumping proceedings against imports of Vietnamese stainless steel. If these demands are successful and the Taiwanese government initiates such proceedings, this is likely to lead to further price increases.
Safeguard successor: German CCI with excessive demands
The deadline for submitting comments to the European Commission (EC) on a possible safeguard successor for certain steel products expired yesterday, Monday. So far, 143 statements have been published. These include a statement by several German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI/IHK) which have joined forces to form an alliance called “IHK-Allianz Zukunft Stahl“. Even on first reading, this statement raise the suspicion that there has been a significant violation of the legal requirement for the CCI/IHK to represent the overall interests of its members.
CCI/IHK demands are extremely harshly formulated
The demands of the CCIs/IHKs for a safeguard successor are just as harsh as those of the major steel lobbies such as the German Steel Association WV Stahl or the steel producer association EUROFER, and have obviously been derived from their position papers and publications.
German CCI-Steel Alliance
One-sided statement without member survey?
They are therefore one-sided and do not indicate at any point that differing opinions were sought or taken into account – something that the CCIs/IHKs are legally obliged to do.
Furthermore, nothing on this topic was published on the websites of the participating Chambers of Commerce and Industry, nor were members asked to participate in shaping opinion online. Corresponding searches on the various CCI/IHK websites were unsuccessful.
Representation of the overall interests of commerce and industry
Furthermore, the name of the IHKs shows that the overall interests of industry AND commerce must be represented. One of the first sentences in the preamble to the DIHK’s statutes makes this even clearer: ‘Together, we stand for freedom of enterprise, free trade and the overall responsibility of the economy as part of society.’
The statement issued by the CCI/IHK Alliance for the Future of Steel clearly opposes free trade and aims to restrict freedom of enterprise (Gewerbefreiheit) in Germany and the European Union. It calls for deep cuts in urgently needed steel and stainless steel imports, higher protective tariffs and a huge expansion of existing safeguard measures.
In addition, according to its statutes, the umbrella organisation DIHK (German Chamber of Commerce and Industry) represents the overall interests of German businesses at national, European and international level.
Not taken into account: 79% of CCI/IHK members
The seven participating CCIs/IHKs do not mention small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for 79% of the total membership of all CCIs/IHKs in Germany. SMEs are massively disadvantaged in terms of competitiveness by the demands that have been made. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry have positioned themselves solely to the advantage of a few large corporations. This statement has nothing to do with democracy and representing the interests of the general public.
It is sad that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is supposed to treat and represent all businesses in Germany equally, allows itself to be so one-sidedly harnessed to the lobby cart of an over-subsidised and over-protected steel industry.
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