Reversal!Impose 50% tariff on China!Cancel visit to China!
- Author:weiyun.com
- Source:weiyun.com
- Release Date:2025-11-14
Recently, the Financial Times reported that German Chancellor Mertz publicly expressed his support for the EU's proposal to increase import tariffs on Chinese steel to 50% after holding a steel summit at the Chancellery.
Mertz said after meeting with the heads of major German steel companies: "These proposals are a step in the right direction. I will fully support it and hope that a reasonable institutional framework will eventually be formed."
This sudden policy turn not only shocked the outside world, but also poured cold water on China-Germany relations as they gradually eased.
Mertz said: "It is urgent to protect our country's steel industry." He also said that not only must tariffs on China be increased, but also steel quotas that originally allowed duty-free imports must be significantly reduced.
The European Commission announced plans in October to double import tariffs on foreign steel to a maximum of 50% and cut duty-free import quotas by 47%.
The move is believed to be a reference to the trade policies of former U.S. President Trump, aiming to protect Europe's local steel industry from low-priced imported products, especially steel from China.
Last month, German Foreign Minister Waldfurt temporarily canceled his visit to China on the grounds that "not enough talks have been arranged in China."Outsiders believe that this shows that tensions between the two sides on trade and security issues are rising. This move has also caused widespread concern in German society.
On October 27, Wadful "made up for it" by saying that he was only "postponing" his visit to China, not canceling it, and would speak to China as soon as possible and reschedule his itinerary.
In recent years, the European steel industry has been mired in multiple difficulties. Energy costs are 2-4 times higher than those of trading partners, downstream demand has declined for three consecutive years, capacity utilization is only 67%, well below the healthy line of 80%, and the impact of US tariffs has led to a sharp decline in exports.
As the largest steel producer in Europe and the seventh largest steel producer in the world, the German steel industry has been particularly hard hit. Orders from leading companies such as ThyssenKrupp have dropped sharply, and factories in the Ruhr area are planning to lay off employees. The cumulative number of unemployed people in the industry since 2008 has reached 90,000.
Industry insiders analyze that if the EU's targeted tariff policy against China is formally implemented, it will not only reshape the regional flow of global steel trade, leading to a chain reaction of countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States planning to form a regional steel alliance, but may also intensify trade conflicts between China and Europe, triggering follow-up trade protection measures by many countries, and further exacerbating the risk of fragmentation in the global industrial chain.
As the vane of the EU's industrial policy, Germany's next step in balancing industry protection and downstream manufacturing cost pressures will become an important focus.
Mertz said after meeting with the heads of major German steel companies: "These proposals are a step in the right direction. I will fully support it and hope that a reasonable institutional framework will eventually be formed."
This sudden policy turn not only shocked the outside world, but also poured cold water on China-Germany relations as they gradually eased.
Mertz said: "It is urgent to protect our country's steel industry." He also said that not only must tariffs on China be increased, but also steel quotas that originally allowed duty-free imports must be significantly reduced.
The European Commission announced plans in October to double import tariffs on foreign steel to a maximum of 50% and cut duty-free import quotas by 47%.
The move is believed to be a reference to the trade policies of former U.S. President Trump, aiming to protect Europe's local steel industry from low-priced imported products, especially steel from China.
Last month, German Foreign Minister Waldfurt temporarily canceled his visit to China on the grounds that "not enough talks have been arranged in China."Outsiders believe that this shows that tensions between the two sides on trade and security issues are rising. This move has also caused widespread concern in German society.
On October 27, Wadful "made up for it" by saying that he was only "postponing" his visit to China, not canceling it, and would speak to China as soon as possible and reschedule his itinerary.
In recent years, the European steel industry has been mired in multiple difficulties. Energy costs are 2-4 times higher than those of trading partners, downstream demand has declined for three consecutive years, capacity utilization is only 67%, well below the healthy line of 80%, and the impact of US tariffs has led to a sharp decline in exports.
As the largest steel producer in Europe and the seventh largest steel producer in the world, the German steel industry has been particularly hard hit. Orders from leading companies such as ThyssenKrupp have dropped sharply, and factories in the Ruhr area are planning to lay off employees. The cumulative number of unemployed people in the industry since 2008 has reached 90,000.
Industry insiders analyze that if the EU's targeted tariff policy against China is formally implemented, it will not only reshape the regional flow of global steel trade, leading to a chain reaction of countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States planning to form a regional steel alliance, but may also intensify trade conflicts between China and Europe, triggering follow-up trade protection measures by many countries, and further exacerbating the risk of fragmentation in the global industrial chain.
As the vane of the EU's industrial policy, Germany's next step in balancing industry protection and downstream manufacturing cost pressures will become an important focus.