Europe's green transformation goals and efforts to reduce carbon emissions are being seriously threatened by rapidly rising scrap demand following new US tariffs, industry representatives warned.
Following the Trump administration's 50 % tariffs on steel imports in 2025, US scrap demand has skyrocketed, while Europe has become the primary supplier of this material, leading to higher domestic prices and a shortage of raw materials.
Eurofer : ‘Scrap is a big problem’
' Axel Eggert, Managing Director of Eurofer, the European steel industry association, said, “Scrap is a big problem,” and emphasised the need for a tax on scrap exports outside the EU. Eggert reminded that many countries outside the EU have already implemented similar measures to protect local supplies.
Scrap is at the centre of the EU's decarbonisation plans
Recycled scrap is critical to Europe's goal of carbon neutrality. According to European Commission data, recycling can reduce energy consumption by 95% for aluminium and 80% for steel compared to primary production. However, with the US turning to its domestic market, the EU is becoming the largest global exporter of scrap metals.
In the first quarter of 2025, EU scrap exports to the US almost tripled to 6,028 metric tons. According to data from European Aluminium, total aluminium scrap exports from the EU increased to 345,000 tons in the same period.
The picture for ferrous scrap is also worrying: a total of 19 million tons of ferrous scrap were exported from the EU in 2023. This scrap was mainly destined for countries such as Türkiye, India, Egypt and Pakistan. The price difference (arbitrage) of USD 750 per ton following the US tariffs further accelerated the pace of exports.
‘Green Deal in jeopardy’ warning
Rob van Gils, CEO of Austria-based Hammerer Aluminium Industries, said that these developments threaten companies investing in low-carbon production under the Green Deal. ‘If this arbitrage window continues, we will see major damage to the companies that invested the most in the Green Deal,’ Van Gils said. Due to high scrap prices in Europe, some producers may have to switch to high-emission primary metals, such as in India, he said.
Recycling industry opposes
On the other hand, EuRIC, which represents the recycling industry, opposes the producers' demands. EuRIC argues that there is no scrap shortage in the EU, claiming that only 80% of the available production capacity is being used.
Review signal from Brussels
The European Commission announced that it is examining the situation after increasing controversy and will decide whether new trade measures are needed for steel, aluminium and copper in the third quarter of 2025.
‘We cannot wait’ message
Paul Voss, President of European Aluminium, argued that the EU must act quickly ahead of a potential trade deal with the Trump administration. "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary action. We cannot afford to wait," Voss said, drawing attention to Trump's own trade agreement deadline of 9 July.
‘Our CO₂ footprint will disappear’
Industry representatives continue to call on Brussels to take swift and effective measures. Hammerer CEO Van Gils underlined the seriousness of the situation by saying, ‘At this rate, the CO₂ footprint of the European aluminium industry will disappear.’
Facing export pressure on scrap, the key raw material for green steel and aluminium transformation in Europe, may lead the EU to further tighten its trade and environmental policies in the coming period.
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