Manufacturing industry Steel industry is not systemically relevant for Swissmem

Swissmem Director Stefan Brupbacher has rejected state support for the steel industry and individual companies. The steel industry is not systemically relevant, said Brupbacher in an interview with "SonntagsBlick".

Subsidies are expensive and would not work in the long term, said the director of the industry association in the interview published on Sunday. Global overproduction is a structural problem. Structural change cannot be stopped, said Brupbacher.

Even if the steel industry does very important work, it is not systemically relevant. "There are more than enough opportunities to obtain steel abroad," said the association director. Swiss consumers benefit from the fact that foreign countries subsidize their export industry. "Switzerland should not take part in this nonsense," he said.

The association is fundamentally against state support for individual industries and companies. Measures such as short-time working are key. In addition, large electricity consumers such as steel companies should be allowed to waive the electricity surcharge for the winter reserve, as proposed by the National Council's Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy. In return, they would have to commit to reducing or stopping their production in the event of an electricity shortage, said the association director.

Fair competitive conditions

Brupbacher sounded the same note as the Federal Council. The national government rejected state subsidies and called for better framework conditions. Economics Minister Guy Parmelin also does not consider the steel industry to be systemically relevant, as he told Swiss Radio SRF in March.

Stahl Gerlafingen is currently waiting for political decisions at federal level. According to its CEO Alain Creteur, the steelworks in the canton of Solothurn, which belongs to the Italian Beltrame Group, has never asked for subsidies. The aim is to restore fair competitive conditions.

SDA