The new guidelines, applicable as from January 2022, involve an alignment with the objectives and targets set out in the European Green Deal and with other recent regulatory changes and Commission proposals in the energy and environmental areas, including the Fit for 55 package.

The CEEAG broaden the categories of investments and technologies that Member States can support, cover aid for numerous areas relevant for the Green Deal, introduce changes to the current rules on reductions of electricity levies for energy intensive users and introduce safeguards to ensure that the aid is effectively directed where it is necessary.

The final document, which constitutes a large improvement for our sectors compared to the initial Commission draft, includes a methodology for the inclusion on the eligibility list for the reduction of the electricity levies. It differentiates between two categories of sectors: those at “significant risk of relocation”, eligible to 85% of compensation, and those at “risk of relocation”, eligible to 75% of compensation. The ceramic sectors at significant risk of relocation are: refractories, ceramic tiles and flags, sanitary fixtures, insulators and insulating fittings, and those corresponding to NACE codes including other technical ceramic products, other ceramic products, and other non-metallic mineral products. The ceramic sector at risk of relocation is the bricks and tiles one.

More information can be found here. (LP)

El Patronato del Fondo Ernst Abbe ha otorgado a la investigadora del CSIC Alicia Durán y socia honorífica de la SECV, el Premio de Investigación Otto Schott 2022. El premio se entregará en el 26° Congreso Internacional del Vidrio (ICG) en Berlín del 3 al 8 de julio de 2022.

El Premio de Investigación Otto Schott por logros científicos sobresalientes se presentó por primera vez en 1991. Desde entonces, el premio se otorga cada dos años para reconocer a investigadores excelentes por sus logros científicos y tecnológicos en la investigación básica y aplicada en los campos del vidrio, vitrocerámicos y materiales avanzados. Este premio de investigación está regido por la Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft y se convoca a nivel internacional. Por este motivo, la lista de ganadores incluye nombres de investigadores de EE. UU., Rusia, Japón, China y otros países europeos, así como físicos y químicos de Alemania. Alicia Durán es la primera investigadora española que alcanza este prestigioso galardón.

La Sección de Cerámica Técnica lanza un ciclo de presentaciones cortas que permita establecer colaboraciones dentro de la sección y la SECV en general. Serán reuniones telemáticas mensuales de 15 minutos, incluyendo preguntas y una breve discusión. Adelantamos ya  la presentación inaugural a cargo de la Dra. Alodia Orera (Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón, CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza) el día 19 de enero de 2022, que lleva por título “Cerámicas para dispositivos electroquímicos y tecnologías de H₂«.

Os animamos a que asistáis y os apuntéis como futuros ponentes cumplimentando el siguiente formulario pinchando aquí.

What is the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium?
The arrangement is intended to facilitate the decarbonising of the steel and aluminium industries, as
well as addressing the issue of overcapacity in these industries caused by non-market practices in
some economies.

The EU and US have agreed to start discussions on this Arrangement as soon as possible, and
conclude them within two years. We want to make this Arrangement open to all like-minded
economies.

How will the Arrangement help achieve decarbonisation?
Each participant in the arrangement should undertake to facilitate trade in steel and aluminium that
meets relevant standards, for instance as regards low-carbon intensity.

They should ensure that domestic policies support the production of steel and aluminium with low
carbon intensity.

In addition, they should consult on government investment in decarbonisation, and refrain from nonmarket practices that contribute to high carbon intensity steel and aluminium production.

How will the Arrangement restore market-oriented conditions in the steel trade?
Each participant will promote trade in carbon friendly steel and aluminium.

Each participant will ensure that domestic policies encourage “Green Steel and Aluminium
production”.

Participants would undertake to apply measures in line with their trade defence rules.
Moreover, they will refrain from non-market practices that contribute to non-market oriented
capacity.

They will also screen inward investments from non-market-oriented actors in accordance with their
respective domestic legal framework.

Is this Arrangement exclusive to the EU and the US?
No; the EU and the US will encourage other like-minded economies to participate.

Will you negotiate one arrangement for both sectors or two separate arrangements?
This is not yet decided, and will depend upon further consultations between the EU and US and with
the respective industries.

What did the US do with the Section 232 tariffs?
The US has announced that it will no longer apply the Section 232 tariffs on a certain amount of EU
exports of steel and aluminium (under “tariff-rate quotas” (TRQs)), effective as of 1st January 2022.
These TRQs amount to the historical volumes of EU steel and aluminium exports to the US.

What are “historical volumes”?
The volume of EU steel and aluminium that was exported to the US prior to the imposition of the 232
measures in 2018 and the volume of EU aluminium prior to 2020 with exception of aluminium foil for
which the baseline is annualised 2021 data.

What is the EU doing in response?
The EU intends to suspend as of 1 January 2022 its rebalancing measures against the US that were
introduced in June 2018 in response to the US Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminium and derivative
products. It will also continue without interruption the suspension of the increase in rebalancing
measures (so-called “second tranche”) set for 1 December 2021.

In addition, the EU has agreed with the US that both sides will hit the pause button on their
respective WTO cases against each other.

What are the “rebalancing measures”?
The US tariffs applied towards the EU from June 2018 affected €6.4 billion of European steel and
aluminium exports, and further tariffs applied from February 2020 affected around €40 million of EU
exports of certain derivative steel and aluminium products.

In response, the EU introduced rebalancing measures in June 2018 on US exports to the EU in a
value of €2.8 billion.

The remaining rebalancing measures, affecting exports valued up to €3.6 billion, were scheduled to
enter into force on 1 June 2021. The EU suspended these measures until 1 December 2021 in order
to give space for the parties to work together to reach a longer-term solution.

Following today’s announcement by the US, all these measures will be suspended.

What are the next steps?
The EU will initiate its decision-making procedure under the EU Trade Enforcement Regulation with a
view to suspend the rebalancing measures. The decision-making involves an examination and voting
procedure with Member States.

How will this help EU workers and business?
The removal of the Section 232 tariffs on historical volumes of EU exports of steel and aluminium
should reduce costs for steel and aluminium exporters, helping to support the sustainability of two
industries that together employ 3.6 million people in the EU.