Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre:

  • We have been informed that the EU member states have decided to impose global safeguard measures on ferroalloys, and that these measures will also apply to Norway.
  • We disagree with the EU’s decision on this matter. We recognise the need to protect European industry from global overproduction, especially in Asia, but we have made it very clear to the EU that, in our view, the EEA Agreement precludes the imposition of these safeguard measures on Norway.
  • The EU’s decision is not primarily targeted at Norway, but it will affect Norwegian exports and have a negative impact on the companies concerned. We will now review the decision thoroughly together with the industry and the employer and employee organisations to assess the potential impacts on Norwegian exports and what we can do to ensure predictability for the Norwegian business sector moving forward.’

Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth:

  • We have been informed that EU Member States today have decided to introduce global safeguard measures on ferroalloys, which will also apply to Norway.
  • We disagree with the EU on this matter, and the affected companies in Norway will be negatively impacted by the safeguard measures. While we share the ambition of protecting European industry against global overproduction, we believe these measures should not apply to Norway. We will now review the decision together with the industry and the social partners to assess how Norwegian exports will be affected. We are already meeting today.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide:

  •  We will now follow up with the EU on how to best secure the interests of Norwegian industry and exports to the European market going forward. This will be a key topic at the EEA Council in Brussels on Thursday.