FACE supports the sustainability ambitions of the EU COVID recovery package

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Dear Aluminium friends,

I hope you are in good health and in good spirits, for the start of your business and for the progressive return to a more normal life.

First of all, FACE  welcomes the high level of sustainability of the EU COMMISSION COVID-19 recovery plans that put the Green Deal at its core. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, we strongly called EU authorities to recognize the aluminium sector as an essential activity, and to include our industry in the list of the European Union strategic value-chains.

As part of the urgently needed economic stimulus measures, we are strongly convinced  that  the absurd and damaging import tariff on unwrought aluminium should be immediately cancelled, a simple, easy to realize  and immediately available measure that would reduce production costs of downstream companies, thus supporting their ability to recover and regain competitiveness in Europe and in international markets.

It does not make sense to inject hundreds of billions in our economy to help us survive and revive and thrive again, and at the same time leave our whole industry with an artificial over-cost keeping import tariffs in an import-dependent market!  Who can understand and support such contradiction?

Since we must immediately strengthen the resilience of EU economy, we proposes, together with the removal of such import tariffs on unwrought aluminium, a much more effective and reactive EU trade defence policy against unfair and high-carbon imprinting primary aluminium imports from  China, keeping on mind that not all the primary metal is the same. As a parallel and complementary intervention, we believe that the EU should absolutely  provide support measures for secondary aluminium producers, which recover the metal through recycling a low-carbon  imprinting product that requires only 5% of energy compared to the primary metal. Aluminium has the precious characteristic of being indefinitely recyclable, and secondary production is a segment in which Italy has always had a leading position.

Going into more details on the merits of the extraordinary recovery plan  “Next Generation EU” announced by the European Commission, designed by the Commission we believe that it is an historical and inclusive recovery package. 

This €750 billion plan will have green strings attached and immediate priority will be given to:

• massive renovation wave of buildings and infrastructure;
• developing circular economy;
• rolling out renewable energy projects (especially wind, solar and hydrogen);
• cleaner transport and logistics (e.g: electric vehicles, rail travel).

In addition, “Next Generation EU” provides for large investments aimed at promoting technological innovation and digitization, through the development of enabling technologies (such as artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructures and 5G networks) that will allow European companies to compete in an increasingly digital economy.

Aluminium possesses unique properties that will play a great role in the green European recovery, it is the ideal material for the carbon-neutral and circular economy that we are all trying to achieve.

We are very optimistic about the new momentum unfolding for our industry, aluminium and its alloys are the materials of choice for social and industrial progress towards a healthy and wealthy carbon-neutral and circular future!

Buon alluminio a tutti.