Czechia wants exemption from Russian steel import sanctions

The request for an exemption on Russian steel imports until 2028 was confirmed on Monday by Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela, who added that the country cannot replace the current Russian supplier.

Síkela confirmed the request for an exemption at the Council in Brussels on Monday. It would apply to imports of heavy steel plates.

“In the current situation in the construction industry, in the construction of bridges, for example, we cannot do without them,” Síkela told journalists before Monday’s meeting.

Czechia is optimistic and expects that the exemption will be granted.

“I firmly believe that the approach that sanctions should primarily harm the one they are intended against and not the one who applies them will be maintained and that in the given case, we will be satisfied,” the minister said, adding that only a few suppliers now produce steel plates.

He also noted that the country is looking for other solutions, but no good ones are now on the table. He also admitted that some suppliers are based in China, but their products are not of a high enough quality, and supplies are unreliable.

The current exemption would only last until next year, though similarly to exemption-seeking Belgium and Italy, Czechia wants an exemption for Russian steel imports until 2028, the Czech News Agency reported.

While the request for exemption was made following consultations with representatives of the steel industry, Marek Vošahlík of the Ministry of Industry and Trade pointed to the Czech industry’s annual steel consumption being around 500,000 tonnes until 2024.

Jana Dronská, spokeswoman for Vítkovice Steel, told the Czech News Agency that if the exemption expires, it could lead to a crisis in the construction or automotive industries.

(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)