Published Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 14:20
by
Duncan Anderson 
in EU in the world (384 views and 1 comments)
A future European Parliament and EU MUST address Resource Security ASAP. We already talk about Energy Security, but "feedstock" security must also be addressed.
China is currently buying up all scrap steel and iron worldwide and India is dismantling ships for the scrap. The price of steel is now going out through the roof. It is more than doubling its price every six months.
Without scrap steel and iron you drastically reduce the "feedstock" for blast furnaces, so the price of steel increase dramatically and then out manufacturing industry can't compete.
The price of other materials is also increasing due to scarcity, in particular non-ferrous metals.
If this basic problem isn't address soon there won't be a European manufacturing industry.
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Comments
1. Resource security by Julian from Schaerbeek on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 15:48
I agree resource security is a BIG issue. The EU's Common Fisheries Policy, and the EU's poicy of buying fishing rights in the waters of developing countries, is depleting fish stocks - what ought to be a renewable food source - in a very alarming way. Similarly there are real concerns about water - and not just in Africa and the Middle east - also in southern Europe . Spain uses more water than is sustainable. Also the world's forests are being cut down at an unsustainable rate. All in all we are using up natural resources faster than they are being replenished.
But steel? Maybe Duncan is right, I dunno. Surely in a global market China has got a right to buy up as much steel as it wants? Cant we just produce more if we need it ? I am more worried about the working conditions of the people dismantling the ships than anything else that Duncan mentions .... Are we really running out of non-ferrous metals?
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