Eng. Ahmed Ezz – Chairman and Founder of Ezz Steel – told the Financial Times that the company recognizes the significant challenges facing the European steel industry, including high energy costs, global production surpluses, and structural pressures. His remarks were featured in the newspaper’s report published on September 7 under the headline: “European steelmakers urge tariffs on cheap imports to avoid collapse.”
Ezz added that attributing these difficulties solely to “cheap imports” is an excessive simplification of the problem and unfairly penalizes responsible and compliant suppliers such as Ezz Steel.
He emphasized that for more than two decades, Ezz Steel has been a trusted supplier to some of the most demanding industrial sectors, particularly the automotive industry. He stressed that the company’s products are manufactured entirely with advanced European technology, produced strictly to customer orders rather than for stockpiling, and fully comply with the EU’s technical and environmental standards, holding both ISO14001 and ISO50001 certifications.
Ezz also noted that the company has invested heavily in green steel technologies that directly support the EU’s emission reduction goals.
According to Ezz, the European Union imported 27.4 million tons of steel in 2024 — equal to a quarter of total sales and double the volume imported in 2012–2013. He underlined that these figures reflect shifts in global trade flows, not dumping practices by producers such as Ezz Steel.
He cautioned that the blanket tariffs, set to be adopted on October 7, make no distinction between compliant and non-compliant suppliers. Such measures, he argued, risk disrupting supply chains, raising costs for European manufacturers, and undermining the long-standing strategic partnership between the EU and Egypt.
In conclusion, Ezz urged policymakers to adopt evidence-based solutions that protect European industry without penalizing reliable partners. He stressed that cooperation — not protectionism — is what will ultimately resolve Europe’s challenges.
