The message from workers and unions was clear: if silicon metal is recognised by the EU as both a critical and strategic raw material, this must be matched by real action to preserve production, jobs and industrial know how in Europe.

This is not what is happening today. Silicon metal is essential for key industrial value chains, including defence, aluminium, chemicals, electronics and photovoltaics. Yet Europe is still failing to protect its remaining production capacity from unfair trade and market distortion. Cheap Chinese silicon metal is flooding the EU market at prices European producers cannot match.

For trade unions, the contradiction is glaring. The EU speaks constantly about strategic autonomy, critical raw materials and industrial resilience, but it is failing to defend the workers, plants and skills that already exist. There can be no industrial sovereignty without production, without furnaces and without the workers whose know how has been built over decades in Europe’s industrial regions.

“Europe cannot call a material strategic while allowing its production to collapse,” said Judith Kirton Darling, General Secretary of industriAll Europe. “If we lose these plants, we lose skilled jobs, industrial capacity and the know how we will need for the green and digital transitions. This is a political choice, and it must change.”

Trade unions underlined that the market is being distorted by global overcapacity, trade diversion and dumping, above all from China. Anti dumping duties on imports from China remain in force at 16.3% to 16.8%, but unions argue that this level of protection is far from sufficient. Europe’s remaining producers continue to face severe pressure.

Trade defence must therefore be strengthened and made more effective. Trade unions also warned that new trade routes must be monitored closely, including reports that Chinese silicon may be entering the European market via third countries such as Angola. Europe cannot remain naive while other global players protect strategic industries far more robustly.

But trade measures alone will not be enough. Europe also needs an industrial response that supports demand for European made and low carbon silicon metal. A material that is strategic to the clean transition, digital technologies and major industrial value chains cannot be left exposed to unfair competition while public authorities speak abstractly about resilience and competitiveness. If silicon metal matters for Europe’s future, Europe must create the conditions for that future to be produced in Europe.

Workers are already paying the price of this failure. In France, Ferroglobe’s decisions have put around hundreds of direct jobs at risk after three silicon plants were stopped in autumn 2025 and workers were moved onto temporary unemployment or short time work. The impact goes far beyond the direct workforce. Subcontractors, temporary workers and whole local communities depend on these industrial sites.

Trade unions also raised the social and ethical dimension of imports. Recent reporting has highlighted forced labour risks in silicon and wider critical mineral supply chains linked to Xinjiang. Europe’s new forced labour regulation must be enforced seriously. European workers cannot be exposed to unfair competition from products made in conditions that violate fundamental rights.

IndustriAll Europe has already warned twice that Europe risks losing its remaining silicon metal capacity unless the Commission acts. See our previous calls here: November 2025 warning on critical raw material sectors and April 2026 call for urgent action on silicon metal.

Europe cannot claim to defend its strategic autonomy while allowing its remaining production capacities to disappear.

This is why industriAll Europe calls for:

• Closing the policy gap on silicon metal: EU trade policy must be aligned with its EU “strategic raw material” objectives. A material recognised as strategic cannot be left unprotected.
• Swift action against unfair and distortive imports: Immediate and effective measures are needed to address dumping practices that threaten European production and jobs, while ensuring that trade measures remain targeted and support integrated European value chains :iImports from partners integrated into Europe’s industrial ecosystem — such as Norway — support European value chains and should not be subject to safeguard measures.
• Protecting jobs and skills through a coherent industrial strategy: Europe must safeguard its industrial workforce through long term investment, strong social dialogue and a commitment to quality employment.
  The clock is ticking. Without rapid decisions, Europe risks losing not only plants and jobs, but also the industrial capacity and know how it will need for the transitions it claims to lead.