Hammered by surging energy costs and a flood of cut-price Chinese imports, Germany’s steel industry has been mired in deep crisis for several years.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday convenes talks with key industry players in Berlin in an effort to help the sector. Here are some questions and answers on the subject:

Why is steel important for Germany?

German’s strength as a leading industrial nation is strongly linked to steel production, which rose in tandem with the construction of the railways, military build-ups during two world wars, and the economic revival of the 1950s.

The country remains Europe’s top steel producer, and the seventh largest in the world, according to the World Steel Association.

Steel is widely used in many sectors in Europe’s biggest economy, from constr

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