Recycling Today reported German scrap recycling associations BVSE and VDM say that a recently published article prepared by European steel industry organization Eurofer has interpreted the steel scrap foreign trade figures in a very creative way in order to put them at the service of its own lobbying. They said “The steelmaking association is using data from two different timeframes to make a comparison. If Eurofer puts the scrap export increase of the years 2005 in relation to 2021, but on the other hand gives the scrap share in crude steel production exclusively for the past year, then there is a certain gap in interpretation.” They said that throughout the timeframe fluctuations in scrap import volumes to the EU were also small & more remarkable were the fluctuations in exports dueto the lack of possible uses. They wrote “The quantities not needed by European plants were exported to consumers in countries, mainly Turkey, where electric arc furnace (production has a share of 70%. In this context, the question arises why there should be export restrictions if there have never been procurement problems? Why does an organization that is very quick to threaten politicians with emigration and job losses allow itself to harm raw material suppliers with such massive market interventions?” Incidentally, Germany’s four main recycling associations BDE, BDSV, BVSE & VDM have called on the government to include them in the so-called energy containment program in early September. Referring to a decision last year that saw the recycling industry removed from the list of eligible sectors as part of an update of the Guidelines on State Aid for Climate, Environmental Protection and Energy 2022, it is not clear why recyclers have been removed from the program as it is completely contrary to the German government’s commitment to support recycling. According to the companies’ joint statement, being removed from the program was wrong because the raw materials require energy to be collected and processed as not everything is done manually and because they are an important part of the circular economy key to cutting emissions as well as energies in the chain process to make steel. They urged “The government should immediately reinstate the industry in the list of eligible sectors for government aid and should ensure the industry is given appropriate funding opportunity.”
Recycling Today reported German scrap recycling associations BVSE and VDM say that a recently published article prepared by European steel industry organization Eurofer has interpreted the steel scrap foreign trade figures in a very creative way in order to put them at the service of its own lobbying. They said “The steelmaking association is using data from two different timeframes to make a comparison. If Eurofer puts the scrap export increase of the years 2005 in relation to 2021, but on the other hand gives the scrap share in crude steel production exclusively for the past year, then there is a certain gap in interpretation.” They said that throughout the timeframe fluctuations in scrap import volumes to the EU were also small & more remarkable were the fluctuations in exports dueto the lack of possible uses. They wrote “The quantities not needed by European plants were exported to consumers in countries, mainly Turkey, where electric arc furnace (production has a share of 70%. In this context, the question arises why there should be export restrictions if there have never been procurement problems? Why does an organization that is very quick to threaten politicians with emigration and job losses allow itself to harm raw material suppliers with such massive market interventions?” Incidentally, Germany’s four main recycling associations BDE, BDSV, BVSE & VDM have called on the government to include them in the so-called energy containment program in early September. Referring to a decision last year that saw the recycling industry removed from the list of eligible sectors as part of an update of the Guidelines on State Aid for Climate, Environmental Protection and Energy 2022, it is not clear why recyclers have been removed from the program as it is completely contrary to the German government’s commitment to support recycling. According to the companies’ joint statement, being removed from the program was wrong because the raw materials require energy to be collected and processed as not everything is done manually and because they are an important part of the circular economy key to cutting emissions as well as energies in the chain process to make steel. They urged “The government should immediately reinstate the industry in the list of eligible sectors for government aid and should ensure the industry is given appropriate funding opportunity.”
