Materials: Conserva, EU on aluminium is doing the opposite of what it should be doing

“WHY HASN’T ALUMINUM BEEN LISTED AS A STRATEGIC RAW MATERIAL?”

“The European Union on aluminum is doing the opposite of what should be done. Why has aluminum, which is crucial to the Green Deal, not been placed on the EU list of strategic raw materials? And why are import duties on raw aluminium being maintained with billions of uncompetitive overcosts for the entire value chain, when we have an 84% deficit on primary aluminum?” These are the questions that Face (Federation of Aluminium Consumers in Europe) Secretary General Mario Conserva addresses to the European Union on the opening day of the European Council.

“In this way – he continues – the competitiveness of SMEs is being hit in order to favor large groups of primary aluminum producers who have reduced in the last 20 years 50% of EU production capacity and have relocated smelters outside the EU”.

“More taxes and red tape are being applied – Conserva points out – with an unmanageable mechanism like CBAM, instead of using a simple and powerful incentive tool like the U.S. IRA.

The European Union should also clearly address the issue of nuclear energy, which is a powerful solution to help reindustrialization and decarbonization in the aluminum sector and beyond, strengthening our strategic autonomy and economic sovereignty.”

Conserva adds that the European Union must continue to be vigilant in ensuring the supply of green metal for users: “and it must continue to oppose – he concludes – the absurd demands by multinational primary producers to restrict the influx of high-quality green metal into Europe by presenting as political ethics what simply appears to be a trade war that harms our value chain.”

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