Riegel/Strasbourg, 24 October 2024 – Following the European Parliament debate on the so-called steel crisis, the Gerber Group calls for a fact-based correction of the narrative driven by large steel corporations and their lobbyists – a narrative that comes at the expense of Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
EU Steel Debate: SMEs Demand Facts, Not Lobbying Fiction
“We were alarmed by how uncritically certain Members of the European Parliament repeated claims that appear to originate directly from the steel lobby’s playbook,” said Thorsten Gerber, CEO of the Gerber Group, a Germany-based international SME trader in stainless steel and aluminium.
Steel imports have remained stable over the past decade
Contrary to dramatic claims, steel imports have remained stable over the past decade (approx. 23 million metric tons in both 2015 and 2023), and the EU has long known it is on a path to steel self-sufficiency by 2030. Even job loss figures are inflated: while 100,000 jobs were cited, actual losses are closer to 82,000 since 2008, according to publicly available industry data.
“Such exaggerations distort policymaking and lead to protectionist measures that only benefit a few while hurting the many,” Gerber said. “Meanwhile, 11.5 million workers in downstream industries face higher costs and shrinking choices.”
The Gerber Group urges Members of the European Parliament to resist rushed, one-sided decisions driven by lobbying pressure and instead champion balanced industrial policies that protect Europe’s economic backbone: its SMEs.
“When facts are replaced by fiction in the political debate, it is the foundation of European industry that suffers,” Gerber concluded. “It’s time to put the truth – and Europe’s SMEs – back at the center of EU policymaking.”
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