Brussels, 18 November 2025

European Aluminium, the voice of the entire aluminium value chain, warmly welcomes today’s announcement by Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič, that the Commission is ready to address the growing problem of aluminium scrap leakage from Europe.

Speaking at the European Aluminium Summit 2025, Commissioner Šefčovič confirmed that the Commission will begin designing a policy instrument to safeguard Europe’s access to adequate quantities of aluminium scrap — which he described as a strategically important critical raw material for circularity, decarbonisation and Europe’s broader strategic autonomy. He also underlined that this preparatory work will be launched before the end of the year.

In his remarks, Commissioner Šefčovič stressed the central role of aluminium recycling in Europe’s green transition. Producing aluminium from secondary raw materials requires far less energy and results in significantly lower CO₂ emissions than primary production, making secure access to scrap indispensable for Europe’s decarbonisation. He warned that ongoing leakage — driven by global demand and market distortions — risks undermining Europe’s circular economy ambitions.

The pressure on Europe’s recycling system has intensified in recent months. The doubling of US Section 232 tariffs to 50%, while exempting scrap, has created a strong arbitrage that diverts growing volumes of European scrap to the US. Coupled with sustained Asian demand, this has left an estimated 15% of EU recycling furnace capacity idled due to insufficient domestic scrap availability — threatening both production continuity and future investment.

Against this backdrop, Commissioner Šefčovič said the Commission will now focus on developing a balanced measure that preserves open trade, ensures European industries can access sufficient scrap at competitive prices, and supports Europe’s industrial resilience and climate neutrality goals.

“This is a strong and timely statement of intent from the Commission.” said Paul Voss, Director General of European Aluminium. “Europe’s future will to a large extent depend on its ability to secure access to the raw materials that our economy and our society require. It is therefore hugely encouraging to see the EU acting so decisively to save our scrap.”

For media enquiries: Kelly Roegies, Senior Manager Communications at roegies@european-aluminium.eu /+32 471 80 20 98