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Merz Convenes Nov. 6 Chancellery Summit on Steel Industry

The talks aim to map relief on energy costs to keep domestic steel competitive.

Overview

  • Cabinet attendees include Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, Labor Minister Bärbel Bas and Environment Minister Carsten Schneider, alongside industry representatives and the premiers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Saarland.
  • The agenda centers on resilience, trade relations and energy prices, with the government stressing the goal of preserving domestic production capacity and jobs.
  • The meeting is scheduled to start at 12:00, run about 90 minutes and be followed by press statements at roughly 13:40.
  • Steelmakers report weak demand from carmakers, elevated power costs, low‑priced imports from Asia and costly decarbonisation requirements, with high U.S. tariffs adding pressure.
  • Berlin is working on a subsidised industrial electricity price while the EU has proposed halving tariff‑free steel import quotas and lifting above‑quota duties to 50 percent, measures still needing member‑state approval, as North Rhine-Westphalia urges concrete decisions.