Norway has slammed the EU for refusing to exempt it from the new trade safeguards as part of a wider effort to shield the bloc’s metal industry from global oversupply.
On Tuesday, the Commission introduced country-specific limits on ferroalloy imports and fresh safeguards on aluminium, following its October decision to impose 50% tariffs on steel imports above quota levels.
The new curbs “will negatively impact Norwegian industries,” said Industry Minister Cecilie Myrseth in a statement.
Norway accounts for some 43% of EU imports of ferroalloys – a crucial input for steel and iron production – and around 2,500 jobs in a rural, Eurosceptic region are at stake, according to industry groups.
Spokesperson Olof Gill defended the move on Tuesday, noting that the Commission’s 2024 investigation found that increased ferroalloy imports were causing “serious injury”. He added that, instead, the new measures are “favourable” for Norway and Iceland.
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Oslo, which is outside the EU but closely integrated into its single market, fears that the measures could set a dangerous precedent, leaving the country exposed to future trade crossfire.
“This is now a political issue,” said Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg last week as he made a last-ditch attempt to get exempted.
According to Norwegian media, the Council vote on Tuesday — delayed twice before being approved — saw Sweden, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania oppose the package, while Denmark abstained.
“There were deep disagreements with the Commission on what measures to take,” said Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on Tuesday.
The Commission insists that the issue is not political, calling it a “purely economic assessment,” a senior official said.
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