Metinvest Chief: EU Steel Tariffs Unfairly Hit Ukraine — SkimNews
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- Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov told the BBC the EU's new steel restrictions are "unfair" and bundled Ukraine in "without any consideration for the situation Ukraine is in," pointing to Russia's invasion.
- The EU capped tax-free steel imports at 18.3 million tonnes per year — a 47% reduction from 2024 levels — to shield member-state producers from cheap Chinese and Turkish steel.
- Ukraine's steel industry estimates its EU exports could ultimately fall 50–60% under the new quotas, despite a bilateral free-trade agreement that does not bar EU protection measures.
- The European Commission acknowledged Ukraine's specific quota is set "below past years" but said it had "offered compensations" to its largest suppliers, including Ukraine.
- Ryzhenkov said strikes on Ukraine's mills have "intensified significantly recently," with a September point where no steel was produced nationwide for the first time in roughly 150 years.
- Metinvest has lost almost 800 workers since the 2022 invasion, and before the war, metallurgy and mining accounted for roughly 10% of Ukraine's national income and one-third of its exports, with the EU as its top customer.
Why it matters: Metallurgy still anchors roughly 10% of Ukraine's national income, and the EU is its only viable wartime customer — making a projected 50–60% export cut a direct threat to an industry that has already absorbed nearly 800 worker deaths and at least one month of zero production.
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