Special tariff on steel being considered

European Commission Vice-president for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič, also a Slovak presidential candidate, supports the idea of introducing a special import tariff on steel. He said this during a visit to the U.S. Steel Kosice (USSK) steelworks on Tuesday. He drew attention to a number of investments that the Kosice plant has made to reduce emissions, given the high burden of steel production on the environment. He also pointed to the issue of how to prevent unfair competition from steel imports from non-EU countries. Ecology is among the main values of the Kosice-based steelworks, according to U.S. Steel Kosice president James Bruno. This, said Bruno, is why close cooperation with European institutions, as well as with the Slovak Government and ministries, is necessary. He also claimed that a no-deal Brexit would have less of an impact on the Kosice-based plant than on its competitors in Western Europe.