Steel companies suggest increase in export taxes

Russian steel companies suggested the Russian government double export taxes on ferrous waste metal, the press service of the Russian Steel consortium reported.

If this suggestion is accepted, the European steel industry will face a jump in expenditures due to an increase in foreign prices for waste metal. European waste metal prices have already rocketed 50 percent due to an advance of Ukrainian export taxes, which are EUR30 per tons since January 1, 2003.

Russian exports of waste metal amount to about 6 million tons per year. The current export tax, which amounts to EUR15 per ton, was introduced in 1999 for restricting waste metal prices on the domestic market.