The introduction of the planned 25 % duties on steel and aluminum by US President Donald Trump’s administration is also threatened by the European Industry and Jobs in Slovakia. The European Trade Union Confederation (EOK) has therefore called on EU institutions to create job protection or a permanent investment fund aimed at supporting these places in an uncertain geopolitical environment. This was pointed out by the Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) SR on the basis of EOK data.
“Maintaining jobs is crucial not only for the steel and aluminum industry, but also for the wider European industrial sector. In order to protect European production, it is necessary to combine support for industrial capacities with specific employees’ protection measures. In addition to sectoral support measures, it is also necessary to introduce business policies to prevent unfair practices and damping prices (the effort of foreign traders to convey goods to the European market at very low prices) steels and aluminum on the European market“Koz said.
She stressed that steel and aluminum duties could only be the beginning, because if the US was imposing 20 % duties to all EU exports, another 750,000 jobs would be at risk, mostly in industrial production. Therefore, according to trade unionists, the EU should create countermeasures in trade policy, expand domestic demand or support exports to new markets.
“Dynamically changing geopolitical conditions require modern tools for the protection of the European industry and jobs. The EU must prefer to create a proactive industrial policy supported by investments with social conditions, introducing a job protection mechanism and permanent investment fund,” KOZ concluded.
