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BERLIN/FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Amid the crisis gripping the German steel industry, IG Metall intends to ramp up pressure on the federal government in Berlin. This Friday (June 12), employees from across Germany are set to demonstrate for the interests of the steel sector, marching from the Brandenburg Gate to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, according to an announcement by IG Metall in Frankfurt. Thousands of participants are expected.

'In recent months, following our pressure, politicians have done a great deal for the steel industry,' said Jürgen Kerner, Deputy Chairman of IG Metall. 'They must not stop halfway now. They must fulfill their promises.'

In addition to Kerner, the party leaders of the Greens and the Left, Felix Banaszak and Ines Schwerdtner, are expected to attend the rally. Works council chairs and labor directors from the steel industry are also scheduled to speak.

Steel industry under pressure from all sides

The German steel industry, which is particularly prominent in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and Saarland, is suffering from the crisis in its customer sectors, notably the automotive industry. This is compounded by high energy prices, cheap imports primarily from China, and the costs associated with the transition to climate-friendly steel production. High US tariffs on steel imports are also weighing on the sector.

Last year, production in the German steel industry fell to 34.1 million tons of crude steel - the lowest level since the 2009 financial crisis. The steel giant Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe has decided on a rigorous restructuring plan and intends to cut or outsource approximately 11,000 positions.

The federal government has already introduced an industrial electricity price to provide relief to energy-intensive sectors like steel. Assistance is also coming from Brussels: in April, the EU agreed to nearly halve the duty-free import quota into the European Union. Further imports are to be subject to a 50 percent punitive tariff.

Rehlinger: Do not jeopardize the steel industry's transformation

Anke Rehlinger (SPD), the Premier of Saarland, is concerned about the upcoming revision of the European Emissions Trading System, for which the EU Commission is due to present proposals in July. Pressure is mounting from industry and parts of the political spectrum to soften the EU's central climate protection instrument in order to reduce the burden on the economy from CO2 certificate trading.

Rehlinger believes this puts the multi-billion-euro transformation of the Saarland steel industry toward 'green steel' production at risk. There must be no backtracking on political guardrails, she wrote in a letter to Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU).

'The path of the Saarland steel industry was irreversibly taken in reliance on the promises of the federal government and the EU Commission,' the letter states. Permits were granted at record speed, and construction is underway. Rehlinger demands that 'the political goal must remain to maintain CO2 pricing and the European Emissions Trading System in ETS 1 such that the transformation of the steel industry is not endangered.' This comes against the backdrop of positions taken by Federal Economic Affairs Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU).

Backing from Berlin

Rehlinger is receiving backing for her warning from the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. 'The emergency braking that some desire will not work and would have fatal consequences for our industrial base,' deputy group leader Esra Limbacher told the 'Rheinische Post'.

The modernization of the steel industry is a critical issue for Germany's industrial future. To this end, the framework of emissions trading must be preserved. Many companies, including the steel industry in Saarland or Salzgitter, are relying on it./als/rtt/DP/stk