BRUSSELS, November 28. /TASS/. Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela has confirmed that the Czech Republic formally requested that European Union (EU) sanctions authorities extend their waiver of the ban on imports of Russian steel until 2028 since such supplies are vitally critical for the Czech economy.

"In the current situation in the construction industry, for example, in building bridges, we will not be able to do without it (steel from Russia - TASS)," the minister was quoted as saying by the Euractiv portal. The Czech Republic hopes that the EU will agree to remove steel from the list of Russian goods subject to EU sanctions, Sikela said. The waiver request pertains primarily to thick steel plate, the portal noted.

"I am convinced that we will stick to the approach that suggests that sanctions should first of all affect those they are targeted at, not those imposing them. In this case we will be satisfied," the industry minister stressed, adding that Prague is also considering other options to tackle the steel shortage, for example, by sourcing imports from China. However, Chinese materials are of inferior quality to their Russian analogues, while no specific alternatives have been developed yet.

"Thick plates are made of Russian steel, a disruption in the production of which could spark a crisis in the construction sector or in auto manufacturing," the CTK news agency quoted Yana Dronskaya, a representative of Czech steel company Vitkovice Steel, as saying. If Brussels grants the requested sanctions waiver, the company intends to use the exemption period to seek out alternative suppliers. Belgium and Italy are also insisting on an extension of the exemption from the ban on Russian steel supplies by the EU. Such a sanctions waiver is vitally necessary for a number of European steel companies.

On November 17, Politico reported that the Czech Republic had asked the European Union to extend the preferential regime for imports of products from Russia’s Novolipetsk Steel Company (NLMK) until 2028 as part of the adoption of a fresh package of anti-Russian sanctions, as the current exemption is due to expire at year-end 2024. Steel from the Russian metallurgical facility is essential for the Czech Republic's automakers, which constitute the backbone of the country’s economy, the publication said, adding that automotive products account for about 10% of the country’s GDP.

The Czech Republic is unable to find an alternative for NLMK products, the publication’s sources said. Prague’s waiver request does not imply that preferential imports of NLMK products would be extended for another four years, however, as the actual exemption period may be different, Politico noted.