The Bulgarian metallurgy sector has the potential and the ambition to participate in the country’s defence industry projects, Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry (BAMI) CEO Politimi Paunova said in an interview for BTA. The association is already in discussions with the State and defence industry companies regarding the possibility for Bulgarian producers to supply metals for military production.
Such a scheme should be included in the new project of the VMZ ordnance plant in Sopot, and Bulgarian metals should be used in the production of the new ammunition, Paunova added. She recalled that the sector has both the technological capacity and experience in producing output for the defence industry. Where a guaranteed market is in place, companies are fully capable of developing new products that meet NATO standards.
“On the eve of Metallurgist’s Day – November 5, the sector continues to report longstanding problems which are deepening and have remained unresolved over the years. One of these is the unregulated import of metal products from third countries. For this reason, the industry hopes that at the beginning of next year a new trade protection measure for the steel market will be introduced. The sector is export-oriented and EU trade policy directly affects it,” Paunova commented.
“The excess capacity built up over the last ten years, not only in China, has caused a real global crisis. Unfair trading practices and growing protectionism further distort the steel market and encourage large-scale imports into the EU from Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. Now this crisis is deepening,” the expert noted.
Following the 50% tariff on steel imposed by US President Donald Trump, it is essential for the EU to conclude the trade agreement with the US to maintain the 3.8 million tonnes of duty-free EU steel exports to the US and to prevent steel from third countries from being diverted to the EU, the European Steel Association (EUROFER) has commented.
The European Steel and Metals Action Plan presented a month ago marks a change in EU policy, including in the area of trade. The most important initiative in this plan is the adoption of a new “high-performance trade measure” to halt the decade-long decline. In early October 2025, the European Commission presented such a proposal, which will replace the current safeguard measure in force until June 2026. At this stage, key proposals put forward by European producers have been included, which is a positive sign for the expected change, the BAMI CEO said.
The regulation preserves steel imports into the EU, but prevents the market from being “flooded”. There will be country-based quotas, and once these are exceeded, imports will be subject to a 50% tariff. The quota volumes correspond to market conditions prior to 2013, when over 18 million tonnes of duty-free steel were imported, mainly from China – an amount equivalent to the combined steel production of France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
The most important thing now is for the new measure to enter into force on January 1, 2026. The decision must be taken by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. “We hope the Bulgarian Government will support the proposal, because every day lost is detrimental,” Paunova said.
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