Stop metal imports from Russia and focus more on sustainability of German industry - we need a raw material turnaround
On 24 February 2022, the Russian military attacked Ukraine and invaded the country. This war, which violated international law, was condemned by the United Nations, as well as by large sections of civil society and business worldwide, and triggered a global wave of solidarity with Ukraine.
Another response to the attack was sweeping sanctions against Russian politics and business. While the US imposed an import ban on Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports, the EU and Germany in particular did not join this measure. The dependencies are too great, and the impact on German industry in particular is too strong. In this paper, we discuss Germany's dependence on Russia for raw materials and explain why it needs both a stop to Russian metal imports and the initiation of a raw materials turnaround.
Addendum of 4 April 2022: Thyssenkrupp has also responded to our questions. The group wrote that almost all new business in Russia had already been discontinued and alternative sources of supply were gradually being developed, especially for coal and ore products for steel production.
An overview of our work on the raw materials transition can be found here.
English (US)