Three weeks before it was due to be announced, the European Commission scrapped a 15% export duty on aluminium scrap. Reuters, citing sources familiar with the discussions, reported that the reason was India: Brussels feared the levy could complicate the final signature of a free trade deal.
The measure had been set for 23 September. It was meant to protect Europe’s smelters and serve its sustainability goals. Instead the EU says it will lean on its environmental rules to restrain scrap exports. Reuters called the abrupt cancellation a reversal that exposes divisions inside the Commission over how far to protect industry while U.S. tariffs reshape global trade and China moves up the value chain.
The office of industry chief Stéphane Séjourné said the previous week that he would drop the proposal, after internal negotiations left the draft covering only half of aluminium scrap. He gave no detailed explanation. A draft seen by Reuters showed a 15% duty planned for three years, against the 30% the industry had asked for. An annex listed 91 countries and territories exempt from the duty, India among them.
India’s weight
India takes about a third of EU scrap exports. Indian officials told Reuters in late June that New Delhi had asked Brussels for relief from the curbs. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to sign the trade deal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December, and the sources said Indian pressure diluted the measure.
“The Commission president’s cabinet and (Directorate-General for Trade) successfully excluded India from the proposal, making it worthless for the industry,” one source said. The sources, a mix of industry figures and European officials, asked not to be named. India’s commerce ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a Friday briefing the Commission said the trade measure was on hold, because it had concluded the same aim could be met under the Waste Shipment Regulation. A spokesperson did not comment on pressure from India.
A weaker tool, industry says
European smelters already face structurally higher energy prices and heavier regulation than Asian rivals, and soaring scrap prices add to the strain. Exports from the EU have jumped 51% since 2019 to a record 1.26 million metric tons in 2025. The draft proposal said buyers outside the bloc pay up to 26% above EU domestic prices, partly because of subsidies and trade distortions.
The waste regulation is expected to be finalised in November. It will ban exports of non-hazardous waste to non-OECD countries from May 2027, but countries can request exemptions, and a draft of the secondary legislation showed 32 non-OECD countries had applied. India, Thailand and Malaysia, major buyers, failed to meet the environmental rules for an exemption on metal waste, so they could not buy EU scrap directly. Industry sources told Reuters it is unclear how well the rules will prevent circumvention.
Producers were blunt. “Reversing course at this stage risks undermining confidence in Europe’s industrial policy framework,” said Emilio Braghi, chief operating officer of Novelis. Jostein Roynesdal of Norsk Hydro said: “We have closed four recyclers in the EU in the last years and are hoping to avoid further closures.” Paul Voss, director general of European Aluminium, said he was convinced the industry would “need to return to the trade measure soon.”
Sources
- EU dropped aluminium scrap duty plan over India concerns, sources say
- EU Drops Aluminium Scrap Duty Over India Trade Deal Concerns
- EU Aluminium Scrap Export Duty Dropped Amid India Trade Talks | Discovery Alert posted on the topic | LinkedIn
