By Andreas Rinke
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany’s Social Democrats, junior partners in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition, will push for a more protectionist stance on Europe’s steel industry, urging the EU to adopt a “buy European” strategy, a document seen by Reuters on Saturday showed.
The SPD, headed by Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, is due to adopt the proposals next week. They call for the European Commission to adopt a “robust trade protection” strategy to defend against subsidised foreign competitors.
“At its core, what is needed is a tariff quota system that effectively limits excessive import volumes while keeping the market controlled and open,” the SPD said.
The proposals are likely to feed into a steel summit called by the conservative chancellor for this month for steel p