Overview
- Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil called for an immediate, complete halt to Russian steel imports and condemned the EU sanctions exemption for Russian-made steel slabs processed in the bloc.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz will host industry leaders and the premiers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Saarland at the Chancellery on Nov. 6 to address resilience, trade ties and energy prices.
- The government is weighing a subsidized industrial power price, with officials signaling plans to use lower energy costs to keep domestic production viable.
- The European Commission proposed in October to nearly halve duty‑free steel quotas and to double above‑quota tariffs to 50 percent, a change that still requires approval from EU member states.
- IG Metall pressed for priority use of German and European steel in infrastructure and auto supply chains, while senior politicians advocated tougher EU action against dumping, including from China.