Gerber Group calls for halt to planned EU steel tariffs – SMEs once again being sacrificed
Riegel/Brussels, 19 March 2026 – Gerber Group, an importer of stainless steel and aluminium based in Riegel am Kaiserstuhl, urgently warns against the planned EU steel tariffs and import quotas currently being negotiated in the trilogue process.
The company supplies small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe. CEO Thorsten Gerber calls on the Member States not to sacrifice Europe’s processing industry, with its millions of SMEs, for the benefit of a small number of large multinational corporations.
“What is being presented here as an industrial policy safeguard measure is in reality a price increase mechanism – the costs are paid by SMEs and consumers, not by the major steelmakers who stand to benefit,” said Thorsten Gerber.
SMEs systematically left out
99.8 per cent of all companies in the EU are SMEs. Nevertheless, the Commission proposal of October 2025 contains no indication whatsoever that their interests were examined. The SME test required under the Better Regulation framework was simply not carried out.
Quota arrangements are envisaged only for a small number of countries – all other trading partners are to be unfairly subject to 50 per cent steel tariffs from the very first tonne imported.
For small and medium-sized enterprises that are critically dependent on imports of steel and stainless steel, this means sharply rising procurement prices and therefore higher production costs. As a result, the competitiveness of domestic companies will be severely undermined both on the EU market and on export markets.
CBAM already shows: regulation without sufficient preparation is harmful
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which entered into force in January 2026, is a clear example of what happens when regulation is introduced without sufficient preparation.
For the steel tariffs now being planned, there is not even a full economic impact assessment in place – although the effects on construction costs, infrastructure and the entire processing industry are substantial.
Gerber Group therefore calls for a full and independent impact assessment, including an SME test, transparent disclosure of all underlying data, and a moratorium on new tariffs until CBAM has been implemented in a stable manner.
“Europe needs open markets and reliable rules – not tariffs that benefit a few large producers while harming millions of SMEs,” Thorsten Gerber emphasised.
Your press contact
Björn Kammeyer
Head of Marketing Gerber Group
Phone: +49 7642 9282851
Mail: pr@steelnews.biz
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.
