Metinvest chief urges EU to exempt Ukrainian steel from new import restrictions

Metinvest chief executive Yuriy Ryzhenkov has urged the European Union to remove or ease restrictions on Ukrainian steel introduced as part of measures targeting cheap imports from countries including China and Turkey.

The EU has capped tariff-free steel imports at 18.3 million tonnes a year, a 47% reduction from 2024 levels. Ukraine’s steel industry estimates that exports to the bloc could ultimately decline by 50–60%.

Ryzhenkov called the rules unfair and said Ukraine needed at least a carve-out to retain access to the European market. He said that access was crucial to the industry’s survival because of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

European Commission response

A European Commission spokesperson said the EU had taken Ukraine’s difficult situation into account when setting its steel policy. The commission acknowledged, however, that Ukraine’s specific steel quota was lower than in previous years.

The spokesperson said Ukraine remained an important steel exporter to the EU and that compensation had been offered to the bloc’s largest suppliers, including Ukraine. The EU-Ukraine free-trade agreement does not prevent Brussels from introducing separate trade-protection measures.

Damage from attacks on mills

Ukraine’s steel industry has also been hit by Russian bombardment. Ryzhenkov said every Ukrainian steel mill had been struck at some point since the full-scale invasion began, with attacks intensifying recently.

He said there had been a point in September when Ukraine produced no steel for the first time in about 150 years. Nearly 800 Metinvest workers have been killed since the war began.

Metinvest has improved covered areas at its plants and updated procedures for protecting employees during air raids. Ryzhenkov said the coming winter could be one of the hardest in the company’s history.