3 November 2025 – Another German Steel Summit is set to help get the supposedly ailing German steel industry back on track. In the run-up, there has been a wave of tariff polemics directed at China – particularly from Germany’s Social Democrats. But is the story of a “cheap” Chinese steel flood into Europe actually true? Or does this allegedly “cheap steel” come from somewhere else entirely?
Tariff Polemics Ahead of the German Steel Summit on Thursday
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for a Steel Summit on Thursday to discuss the alleged crisis of domestic steel producers. In addition to the manufacturers themselves, representatives of the state governments are expected to attend. Several federal ministers have also announced their participation.
Even before the meeting, the governing parties have positioned themselves, pointing to Germany’s high energy prices as one of the main reasons for the steel industry’s weakness. Particularly among the Social Democrats (SPD), there has been more appetite for pushing tariffs than for addressing the real issue: a lasting reduction of energy costs that isn’t financed through subsidies.
However, tariffs would demonstrably benefit only a very small circle of steelmakers, while the manufacturing sector would in return suffer from significant increases in production costs.
Claim of “Cheap Steel from China” Fails the Fact Check
Politicians, as so often, like to point to the supposedly cheap steel from China that is said to be flooding the domestic market. Yet this claim does not withstand a proper fact check, as data from the European statistics authority EUROSTAT clearly shows.
In the first eight months of 2025, the average price per ton of imported steel from China to the EU stood at €1,015, with an imported volume of around 2.4 million tons. This means China ranks neither first in import volume nor in alleged dumping prices.
EU: Turkey Ranks No. 1 in Cheap Steel Imports
For comparison: During the same period, more than 3 million tons of steel were imported from Turkey into the EU. The average import price for a ton of Turkish steel was just €692, almost 32% cheaper than Chinese steel. Moreover, Turkish steel is even 42% below the export prices of European steelmakers.
Polemic Tariff Rhetoric Meant to Distract from Real Problems
This quick fact check makes it clear: it’s time to tone down the polemic tariff rhetoric in Europe and Germany and to focus on the real issues instead – namely, making energy costs competitive again through a reform and harmonization of the European energy market.
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