The EU plans to introduce a 15% duty on exports of aluminium scrap – FT

The EU intends to impose a 15 per cent duty on exports of aluminium scrap, the Financial Times reports, citing sources.

The plan to levy a 15 per cent duty, the newspaper notes, would mark the first time Brussels has imposed tariffs on goods exported from the bloc. The proposal is due to be presented on 9 September. In this way, the EU aims to prevent the valuable metal from finding its way to the US and Asia.

According to EU aluminium producers, they are being undercut in auctions – overseas smelters can afford to pay more to buy scrap in Europe, remelt it into metal and re-export it to the bloc.

In their view, the EU must maintain its capacity to produce the metal, which is used in many ‘green’ technologies and weapons, as the US and China expand their search for raw materials by buying mines and striking deals in other countries.

The European Aluminium Association stated that exports of aluminium scrap from the EU reached a record 1.27 million tonnes last year, which is approximately 50 per cent higher than the 2019 level. The majority of these volumes are destined for India and China.

According to Fastmarkets, the price per tonne of such scrap has doubled since October 2025, rising from €1,500 to €2,240. At the same time, the price of aluminium has risen more slowly – from around €2,700 to €3,150 per tonne. EU producers also face much higher energy costs than their competitors.

European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič promised to take action by June, but the bloc has faced resistance to restrictions from scrap traders.

European aluminium producers have made significant investments in smelters, partly with the aim of reducing carbon emissions. However, it is estimated that 15 per cent of smelter capacity in the EU remains unused – companies cannot afford to purchase sufficient quantities of scrap.

According to European Aluminium, the shortfall in aluminium scrap stands at around 2 million tonnes per year.

The September proposal must be approved by a qualified majority of Member States; the European Commission has not yet responded to the publication’s request for comment.

It should be noted that European steel producers also support restrictions on ferrous scrap exports, citing their importance for the decarbonisation of the steel sector. At the same time, scrap recycling federations are opposed to this.

It should be recalled that in July last year, the European Commission announced the start of monitoring imports and exports of scrap metal, including ferrous scrap, aluminium and copper. This was in response to warnings from the metallurgical industry about a growing shortage of raw materials and the potential threat of blast furnace and electric arc furnace operations coming to a halt.