U.S. President Sets EU Ultimatum on Trade Agreement – Stainless Espresso

May 8, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

8 May 2026 – U.S. President Donald Trump has set the European Union an ultimatum in a phone call with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, specifying by when the U.S.-EU trade agreement must be implemented. At the same time, the EU is doing everything it...

Changes at DG Trade: Fresh start or more corporate lobbying? – Stainless Espresso

May 7, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

7 May 2026 – The European Commission has thoroughly shaken up the leadership of its most important trade-policy Directorate-General, DG Trade, as of 1 June 2026. Sabine Weyand is leaving; Juul Jørgensen is arriving. Where is DG Trade heading under the new...

Nickel: Indonesia Plans to Introduce Export and Windfall Profit Taxes – Stainless Espresso

May 6, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

6 May 2026 – The Indonesian government has once again reaffirmed its intention to introduce an export tax and a windfall profit tax on nickel. Nickel prices on the SHFE and LME are jumping higher. Asian base metals are showing significant gains today....

EU Energy Market: Yet Again Only Subsidies Instead of Real Reforms? – Stainless Espresso

May 5, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

5 May 2026 – Last week, the European Commission adopted a temporary framework for state aid against the backdrop of the crisis in the Middle East. Domestic steel producers are already calling for the measure to be extended indefinitely – but not for any...

US: Tariffs on EU Vehicles Set to Rise to 25% – Stainless Espresso

May 4, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

4 May 2026 – On 1 May 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on vehicles from the European Union are to be raised to 25% this week. But is the German Chancellor really responsible for this – or the EU Trade Commissioner’s plans for...

British Steel: Tariffs, CBAM, Rising Prices – and in the End, the Consumer Pays – Stainless Espresso

Apr 30, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

30 April 2026 – The United Kingdom is planning 50% import tariffs on steel from July 2026, along with a 60% quota cut and, from 2027, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. According to one study, the result is clear: the cost of British steel could become among...

US: Excessively High CBAM Default Values Could Trigger Countermeasures – Stainless Espresso

Apr 29, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

29 April 2026 – The CBAM default values, which are considered too high and artificially inflated, could trigger countermeasures. A study for the U.S. Congress is now intended, among other things, to provide lawmakers there with the data basis needed for this....

CBAM Expansion: Should a failed system really be expanded? – Stainless Espresso

Apr 28, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

28 April 2026 – Base metals mostly moved sideways in Asia today. Are looming supply shortages in metals expected? CBAM expansion: the extension of CBAM to downstream products is angering European industry, with a major association calling for an end to the CO2...

EU Trade Commissioner Makes No Progress on U.S. Steel Tariffs – Stainless Espresso

Apr 27, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

27 April 2026 – The EU Trade Commissioner has once again failed in his talks on U.S. steel tariffs and is returning empty-handed. Since January, a significant increase in German crude steel production has been observed. And nickel prices are rising again....

EU Steel Tariffs and Quotas: Compromise Proposal on the Table – Stainless Espresso

Apr 24, 2026 | Stainless Espresso

24 April 2026 – On 23 April 2026, the Member States forwarded the final agreed compromise proposal on the planned successor to the EU safeguard measure on certain steel products to the European Parliament. We have already had a first look at it. Nickel futures...