Ukrainian metallurgy needs equal conditions for competition on the EU market, – Metinvest

Photo by UNIANThe opportunities of Ukrainian metallurgists on the European market are not competitive, because the EU is still able to buy cheap Russian slabs, which are still not subject to sanctions. In addition, the SVAM European environmental duty mechanism will soon become operational, which will become another obstacle for our products. Therefore, the authorities need to make efforts to ensure equal conditions for Ukraine on the European market. Oleksandr Vodoviz, head of Metinvest’s general director’s office, said this at the Kyiv International Economic Forum.

He noted that one of the obstacles to the modernization of Ukrainian metallurgy is the system of guarantees, which does not create equal conditions for Ukrainian and European enterprises.

“You have to go to the market, take money, and the ministry will provide you with guarantees. This is not real money. Europeans receive interest-free and free grants. And they tell us: take loans, pay interest on them, and we will give you guarantees for them. This also, of course, a very good tool, and we will use it. But, again, it’s not a level playing field,” Oleksandr Vodoviz emphasized.

Vodoviz emphasized that access to the EU market will open up great opportunities for any Ukrainian manufacturer, but for this, Ukrainian companies should be given the same conditions as European ones.

“Then we are ready to compete. But if we are presented with such environmental requirements as are presented to the Europeans, we will lose this competition and will not be able to enter this market,” Oleksandr Vodoviz explained.

Oleksandr Vodoviz called the impossibility of unconditional implementation of regulations without proper support of enterprises as one of the risks of applying the EU policy on the adjustment of carbon emissions at the border (CBAM) for Ukrainian industry.

“In terms of ecology, we see instructions that Ukraine should adopt certain regulatory acts. But we cannot accept them blindly. For example, in Europe, for decarbonization, each plant is allocated from 0.5 to 1 billion euros. But we have nothing. We want to pay attention to the fact that we are in different weight categories,” said the head of Metinvest’s general director’s office.

He emphasized that the adoption of these normative acts can destroy the main industries that form Ukraine’s GDP. Meanwhile, the Russians continue to occupy their niche in the European metallurgical market. And although part of the sanctions against Russian manufacturers of metal products were indeed implemented, the other part did not.

“Regarding the supply of slabs to the EU, Russia continues to occupy a strong position. For example, Italian manufacturers of steel products buy cheap semi-finished products in Russia. And we cannot buy these cheap slabs, and we lose to them in the competition,” explained the head of Metinvest’s general director’s office.