Unión de Empresas Siderúrgicas
UNESID
UNESID is the trade association representing the Spanish steel and primary steel transformation industry.
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Nicolás González Casares (Member of the European Parliament)
19 Nov 2025 · Steel Trade
Meeting with Nicolás González Casares (Member of the European Parliament) and ArcelorMittal
1 Oct 2025 · Steel Industry
Spanish steel industry demands strict rules for foreign carbon prices
25 Sept 2025
Message — UNESID insists only explicit, verifiable, and net carbon costs be recognized. They demand that any rebates or fiscal compensations are fully deducted. Recognition must link directly to where the steel was melted.12
Why — These rules protect domestic producers from competitors using fake carbon cost claims.3
Impact — Foreign exporters using weak or indirect carbon pricing systems will face higher costs.4
Spanish steel industry urges tougher CBAM traceability and penalties
25 Sept 2025
Message — UNESID demands proof of where steel was melted and poured to ensure traceability. They call for systematic monitoring and penalties to prevent exporters from redirecting low-carbon products. Additionally, scrap must remain outside the scope to avoid artificial recycling costs.123
Why — These measures would protect domestic producers from unfair competition and market distortion.45
Impact — Non-EU exporters would lose the ability to use loopholes to hide carbon-intensive production.6
UNESID urges CBAM benchmarks to protect European steel recycling
25 Sept 2025
Message — UNESID demands benchmarks account for European recycling and indirect costs to ensure fair competition. They call for rules preventing exporters from dodging costs through minor product modifications.12
Why — This would protect European low-carbon producers against artificially cheap, high-emission imports.3
Impact — Foreign exporters using gas-based production would face significantly higher carbon fees.4
Spanish Steel Industry Urges Mandatory EU ETS Cost Compensation
5 Sept 2025
Message — The organization calls for compensation to be a mandatory, harmonized tool rather than a discretionary state-aid option. They demand separate eligibility for seamless steel tubes to prevent their high energy needs from being ignored. Additionally, the methodology must reflect how fossil fuel prices still influence renewable energy bidding.123
Why — These changes would ensure full financial protection against high power prices and maintain the industry's competitiveness.45
Impact — Public budgets face higher spending as member states would be forced to maximize industrial subsidies.6
UNESID Urges EU to Tax Imported Steel Components
8 Aug 2025
Spanish steel industry urges EU content rules for decarbonisation
8 Jul 2025
Message — The industry calls for procurement rules that favor European low-carbon steel and mandatory labeling. They also request harmonized rules to prevent wealthier Member States from gaining unfair advantages.123
Why — These rules would protect Spain's efficient scrap-based steel industry from foreign competition.45
Impact — Non-EU manufacturers would be disadvantaged by the proposed local content and carbon footprint requirements.6
Meeting with Miguel Gil Tertre (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez), Thomas Auger (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez)
15 May 2025 · Competitiveness of the Steel Industry
Response to Delegated act on primarily used components under the Net-Zero Industry Act
20 Feb 2025
Spanish steel industry urges public fund for historic CMR liability
23 Jan 2024
Topic — EU initiative updating rules to protect workers from carcinogenic and reprotoxic chemical exposure.
Message — UNESID proposes a public fund for historical chemical exposures in previously state-owned plants. They also suggest aligning reporting requirements with existing EU chemical laws. This would focus inspections on installations with the highest exposure levels.123
Why — This protects current owners from financial costs and legal uncertainty regarding past chemical exposures.45
Spanish steel industry urges strict verification of environmental claims
21 Jul 2023
Message — UNESID calls for mandatory third-party verification of environmental claims to ensure credibility. All products from non-EU countries must also demonstrate their environmental performance to maintain a level playing field. The directive should allow claims for products containing hazardous substances if they pose no risk.123
Why — This would protect high-standard European producers from unfair competition and distinguish them from greenwashers.45
Impact — Non-EU exporters and EU states with lower verification thresholds would lose their competitive advantage.6
UNESID seeks materiality focus in sustainability reporting standards
3 Jul 2023
Message — UNESID proposes deleting requirements to report information regardless of materiality assessment results. They suggest referencing the supply chain at a first stage rather than the value chain. They request a common definition to delimit what is understood as areas of water risk.123
Spanish steel sector demands faster permits and procurement reforms
22 Jun 2023
Message — UNESID demands faster permitting processes that cover the entire industrial value chain. They insist public buyers accept cost increases over ten percent for green products.12
Why — These changes would streamline industrial upgrades and secure higher-value public contracts.34
Impact — Taxpayers and public budgets would bear significantly higher costs for green infrastructure.5
Spanish steel association urges flexibility in emissions directive revision
22 Jun 2022
Message — UNESID calls for maximum flexibility in emission limits and decarbonisation plans to account for technological uncertainty. They advocate for protecting confidential business information in transformation plans and oppose merging multiple regulatory areas like health into a single system.123
Why — This approach protects their competitive advantage and avoids unachievable emission targets.456
Impact — Environmental regulators and transparency advocates face reduced access to detailed industrial data.7
Response to Evaluation and revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive
17 Feb 2022
Spanish steel industry urges realistic pollution risk management
29 Oct 2020
Message — UNESID argues pollution management should focus on tolerable risk levels rather than zero levels. Risk minimization should be based on what is reasonably practicable rather than physically possible. They also call for harmonized rules to prevent unfair competition.123
Why — This approach prevents unfeasible technical requirements and protects industry competitiveness in global markets.45
Impact — Citizens and ecosystems may remain exposed to pollutants deemed practicable but not eliminated.6
Spanish steel industry demands role in pollution reporting review
26 Oct 2020
Message — UNESID demands the industrial sector is completely involved since the very beginning to ensure a reliable system. They request that confidential business information is anonymously shared and aggregated. They insist this must not replace existing processes for defining technical standards.123
Why — Protecting confidential business information avoids exposing sensitive industrial data to competitors or the public.4
Impact — Public transparency advocates lose access to specific facility data if information is anonymized and aggregated.5
Spanish steel industry seeks wastewater reuse for industrial cooling
8 Sept 2020
Message — UNESID recommends that the directive promote treated wastewater reuse for industrial cooling rather than just agriculture. The association argues that plant output quality must be adapted to meet specific industrial requirements.12
Why — This would allow steel producers to optimize their cooling processes using recycled water.3
Impact — Public authorities and treatment managers may face higher costs for upgrading infrastructure.4
Spanish steel industry urges practical chemical risk management
19 Jun 2020
Topic — The European Commission is developing a strategy for a toxic-free sustainability environment.
Message — UNESID argues that chemical risks should be managed to rational levels instead of zero. They request specific evaluation protocols for metal alloys rather than generic chemical methodologies.12
Why — Adopting practical risk standards prevents the industry from facing impossible technical sacrifices.3
Impact — Environmental groups and citizens lose the protection of a strictly zero-pollution environment.4
Steel group UNESID seeks revised cobalt classification to protect recycling
8 Feb 2019
Topic — Amendment to European chemical classification rules regarding the labeling of hazardous substances.
Message — UNESID requests maintaining a 0.1% cobalt threshold while refining methodologies for alloys. They argue the hazard classification should be limited specifically to the inhalation route. Finally, they urge the Commission to assign category 1B instead of 1A.123
Impact — European recycling companies lose business as production shifts to third countries.6
Response to Amendment of the EU ETS Monitoring and Reporting Regulation (MRR)
26 Nov 2018
Meeting with Miguel Ceballos Baron (Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström) and The European Steel Association
14 Jun 2016 · China and steel
Meeting with Miguel Ceballos Baron (Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström), Miguel Ceballos Baron (Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström) and The European Steel Association
9 Mar 2015 · Steel sector in China
Meeting with Maria Cristina Lobillo Borrero (Cabinet of Vice-President Miguel Arias Cañete)
22 Jan 2015 · 2030 energy and climate framework
Meeting with Miguel Arias Cañete (Commissioner) and
2 Dec 2014 · Market Stability Reserve and 2030 Framework