SMR Stainless Club: EURANIMI warns EU melt & pour rules could send steel processing abroad

The proposed EU “melt & pour” rules could encourage multinational steel groups to move downstream processing outside Europe, the stainless steel processors’ association EURANIMI warns, shares SMR Stainless Club in it’s June Distributor Newsletter.

The association questions whether the policy will achieve its objective of strengthening European industry. The new origin rules could instead encourage global producers to reorganise their production and supply chains to maintain access to the EU market.

Under the proposed system, the steel origin would be determined by where the metal is melted rather than where it is later processed. EURANIMI says that, if this principle is adopted, slabs produced in Europe could be exported for rolling or other downstream processing before returning to the EU as flat products, tubes, bars or other stainless steel products while retaining EU melt & pour origin.

EURANIMI points to trade in semi-finished stainless steel as evidence that intercontinental shipments are already commercially viable. According to Eurostat, the EU imported more than 500,000 tonnes of stainless steel slabs and other primary feedstock in 2025. Around 350,000 tonnes came from Indonesia. “The transport cost of moving slabs halfway around the globe is not an obstacle,” EURANIMI says, commenting on the statistics.

According to the association, such products could avoid quota restrictions and the 50% out-of-quota duty under the EU’s new steel import regime. CBAM costs could also be lower because most embedded emissions arise during melting and primary steelmaking, which would already have taken place in Europe.

Imported slabs, meanwhile, would continue entering the EU without quota restrictions. CBAM would still apply, but primary steel producers are generally expected to declare actual embedded emissions rather than use default values. EURANIMI says this creates an asymmetry. Foreign slabs can enter Europe, while EU-produced slabs can leave for processing and return under the same origin.

The association believes this could influence future investment decisions. Multinational steel groups could choose to carry out downstream processing where energy, labour and regulatory costs are lower while continuing to supply the European market. Avoiding safeguard duties and reducing CBAM costs would strengthen those incentives.

“For a large steel group with production facilities spread across several continents, the question is not whether processing takes place in Europe or elsewhere. The question is where the next tonne can be produced most efficiently,” the association said.

EURANIMI therefore questions whether the proposed rules could undermine the EU’s broader industrial objectives. “Is Europe designing a system that strengthens European industry and contributes to reducing global CO₂ emissions? Or is the EU creating a system that encourages global steel groups to optimise their supply chains in new ways, shifting industrial activity, investment, and emissions beyond the Union’s borders…”

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SMR Stainless Club
English
28 June 2026