The boss of a Ukrainian steel company said: EU tariffs on China will harm the country

The head of one of Ukraine's largest steel companies has called on the European Union to lift import restrictions on Ukrainian products, saying Ukraine has been "bundled" in measures aimed at curbing cheap imports from China and other places.

Yuriy Ryzhenkov, chief executive of Metinvest, told the BBC that the EU's recent tariffs on imported steel were "unfair" and were introduced "without taking Ukraine's situation into account".

He said he hoped that the EU would "at least make exceptional arrangements" to allow Ukrainian steel products to enter the EU market.

A spokesman for the European Commission said that the EU "has taken into account the difficult situation faced by Ukraine" when formulating its steel policy.

The EU has recently tightened steel import restrictions to protect steel manufacturers in member countries.

Under the new measures, the total annual amount of steel that can enter the EU market duty-free is set at 18.3 million tons, a 47% decrease from the 2024 level.

Although the policy has some country-specific quotas, the overall purpose is to reduce steel imports, because steel companies in EU member states are struggling to compete with cheap imported steel from places such as China and Turkey.

Although the EU and Ukraine have signed a free trade agreement (FTA), this agreement does not prevent the EU from implementing additional trade protection measures.

"Ukraine was included in these measures without taking into account the current situation of Ukraine," Rezhenkov said, referring to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.

"Access to the European market is critical to our survival," he said.

"These restrictions imposed by the EU authorities are not helping."

"I think it's unfair that Ukraine is treated the same as all other countries that export steel to the EU."

The Ukrainian steel industry estimates that steel exports to the EU may ultimately fall by about 50% to 60%.

The European Union said that the steel quota set up specifically for Ukraine can still ensure Ukrainian steel exports to the EU, but admitted that the level is "lower than in past years."

"Even during the war, Ukraine remained an important source of steel exports to the EU," its spokesman said.

The spokesman added that the EU has provided "compensation arrangements" to the most affected suppliers, including Ukraine.

Steel products are an important pillar of Ukraine's economy. Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the metallurgical and mining industry accounted for about 10% of Ukraine's national income and contributed about one-third of export revenue, with the EU being its largest customer.

However, continued Russian bombing has severely damaged the industry.

Rezhenkov said that since the outbreak of the war in 2022, all steel plants in Ukraine have been attacked, and the recent air strikes have been "significantly intensified."

He added that at one point in September, Ukraine "did not produce a ton of steel" for the first time in about 150 years.

Nearly 800 employees of Meiti Investment Group have lost their lives since the war broke out.

Rezhenkov said the company had improved shelter facilities at the steel plant where employees could take shelter during air strikes.

"The only thing we can do is put procedures in place to keep our employees safe, follow those procedures and reduce the risk as much as possible," he said.

"Unfortunately, you can't cover an entire steel plant and make it completely immune to damage."