Stoltenberg pushes back against EU ferroalloy tariffs ahead of key vote

Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg is making a last-ditch effort to stop incoming EU tariffs on Norwegian ferroalloy exports.

EU countries are expected to approve a European Commission plan introducing new safeguard measures on ferroalloys – a key input for steel and iron production – by 18 November without granting exemptions for Norway or Iceland, which supply around 43% and 4% of the EU’s needs respectively.

“It’s well known that Norway disagrees,” Stoltenberg, a former NATO secretary-general, said on Thursday. “We believe in the integrity of the European internal market.”

Norway has fought against the measures all year, fearing they could set a precedent leaving the country vulnerable to future trade-war fallout.

“Norway is inside our single market and Norway will stay and remain inside our single market. This is crystal clear,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a charm offensive in Norway in April.

Norway’s membership of the European Economic Area agreement leaves Oslo with limited legal leverage to challenge the tariff. Stoltenberg dismissed legal action, calling it a “political issue”. Varg Folkman from the European Policy Centre described the move as a “prestige loss” for Norway.

Folkman said the council’s Safeguard Committee needs to approve the measures, and a Commission spokesperson said a vote is expected ahead of 18 November, when the measures are tentatively set to enter into force.

“The final decision has not yet been taken,” Stoltenberg said, adding that he had discussed the issue with EU finance ministers earlier in the day.

Public opinion in Norway remains sensitive to EU-related tensions: 55% of Norwegians oppose joining the bloc, and 12% remain undecided. The new tariffs risk becoming politically divisive, as they threaten some 2,000 jobs concentrated in a rural region that is typically sceptical of Brussels.

The pro-EU camp hopes the measures will strengthen their case by illustrating the cost of staying outside the union, said Folkman.

“But personally, I think it will just make people angry,” he added.

(aw)