Serbia seeks talks with EU on new steel safeguard measures

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić wants to hold talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the proposed new trade measures on steel, N1 reports.

The new measures, Vučić said last week, will hit the Smederevo steel plant, owned by China’s HBIS Group, and could weaken Serbia’s attractiveness to foreign investment.

“We expected a reduction in steel import quotas to the EU, and Serbia could cope with that. However, now additional tariffs are to be introduced, and none of us can cope with that,” he said.

According to Vučić, the country wants to hold talks with von der Leyen when she visits Belgrade and call for the tariffs to be abolished, at least for candidate countries, if possible. At the same time, Serbia will agree to quotas.

The Serbian president added that the European automotive industry has been unable to cope with competition from China, and car manufacturers have protested against the new proposal on trade measures.

On October 7, the European Commission presented a proposal to protect the EU steel industry from the unfair impact of global overcapacity. It includes limiting duty-free imports to 18.3 million tons per year, which is a 47% reduction compared to the 2024 steel quotas, as well as doubling the duty rate on products outside the quota to 50%. It also provides for increased traceability of steel markets through the introduction of melting and casting requirements.