In brief
Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov has warned that the EU’s new steel quotas will devastate Ukraine’s steel exports, cutting them by up to 60%. He argues the measures bundle Ukraine together with other importers, ignoring the country's war damage and the strategic importance of the EU market. The EU cites a need to protect member states from cheap imports, capping tariffs at 18.3 million tonnes a year, a 47 % drop from 2024. With 800 workers lost and production halted at times, the industry faces a hard winter amid an ongoing conflict that has scorched its plants.
Metinvest chief executive Yuriy Ryzhenkov has accused the European Union of unfairly bundling Ukraine into its new import‑tariff policy for steel, arguing that the 47 % cut to EU tariff‑free imports will cripple a war‑torn industry that still supplies a third of its goods to the bloc.
He said the restrictions were imposed “without any consideration for the situation Ukraine is in” and called for a carve‑out that would allow Ukrainian steel to reach the EU market without the steep limits. The EU, meanwhile, insists that the 18.3 million‑tonne cap, which represents the level at which EU member states can import steel tax‑free, was designed to protect domestic producers from cheap imports from places such as China and Turkey.
Although a free‑trade agreement between the Union and Ukraine exists, it does not preclude the EU from introducing separate protectionist measures. Ryzhenkov noted that the war has already led to the destruction or shutdown of several Ukrainian steel mills, and that production was halted entirely for the first time in 150 years during September.
Metinvest has lost nearly 800 workers since the 2022 invasion, and the company has had to improvise emergency shelters for workers during air raids.
“We rely heavily on the EU market, and cutting that access by 60 % does nothing but make survival harder,” the CEO said. “The only thing we can manage is to design procedures that keep people safe and abide by them; but the industry’s future depends on external markets.
The EU acknowledges Ukraine’s quota is lower than in previous years but maintains it has “offered compensations” to suppliers including Ukraine. Nonetheless, the Ukrainian steel sector warns that its exports could fall by 50–60 % if the tariffs remain unchanged, threatening both the industry and the national economy, which was heavily dependent on metallurgy before the war.
