Recycling Europe questions the “scrap metal drain” and calls for the future EU trade measure to be based on data

Recycling Europe has warned that there is no evidence to support the alleged “scrap metal drain” of aluminum outside the European Union, despite the fact that the European Commission has initiated work to design a “balanced” trade measure to tackle this phenomenon before the spring of 2026. The European confederation of recycling industries considers that the claims pointing to this drain are “paradoxical, unfounded and misleading”, according to the Community Executive’s own control mechanisms.

The sector, made up of tens of thousands of SMEs and larger companies that generate non-relocatable employment throughout the EU, insists that European decarbonization depends on a strong recycling industry, with sufficient internal demand and viable commercial outlets for its surplus materials. Recycling Europe also appreciates that the Commission’s Vice-President and Head of Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, publicly recognizes the strategic role of recycling in circularity, resource autonomy and security of supply.

Likewise, the organization welcomes the Commission’s commitment to offer the certainty that the industry and its clients —inside and outside the EU— have been demanding for some time to ensure a stable supply of recycled materials.

With the public consultation planned for the coming months, Recycling Europe emphasizes that it hopes to participate “fully and on equal terms” in the process, as an essential part of the value chain. Its president, Olivier François, stresses that “the entire chain benefits when decisions are based on data, not noise”.

The entity declares itself willing to collaborate constructively with Brussels in the design of any new trade measure, provided that it is proportionate, based on evidence and does not put any sector of the European industrial ecosystem at a disadvantage.