The EU steel industry went through two major cycles of restructuring, in the 1980s and 1990s. The first cycle saw the removal of 31 million tonnes of outmoded, finished steel capacity and the second 19 million tonnes. The number of EU workers in the steel industry declined from almost 1 million in 1973 to around 270,000 today, a re-duction of 730,000 workers. Im-portantly, EU restructuring in the 1990s was accomplished without import restrictions against WTO Members. Assistance in the EU has been given to close uneconomic capacity, not to keep it alive.
All competitive producers benefit from the closure of uneconomic facilities.
EU producers do not receive production subsidies. EU producers have been privatised and have consolidated into some of the largest and most efficient producers in the world. Of the top 10 largest producers in the world, five are European. As part of an on-going restructuring process in the EU, three of these plan to merge, creating the world's largest steel producer. The elimination of uneconomic capacity through re-structuring and consolidation has made the EU industry highly competitive.