The German steel industry is better off than most other industries. Crude steel production in Germany has been forecast to reach the previous year's level of approx. 45 million t, which would be a fairly good result. The forecast, however, has been made under the assumption that the general circumstances do not change fundamentally. The feared negative repercussions resulting from the safeguard tariffs imposed by the USA have been mitigated by exemptions, EU tariff quotas and the price development. However, the industry is still concerned about political actionism. Not everything that appears to be desirable for ecological reasons makes sense if being looked at from an economic angle. The cost of energy must not rise any further. The planned hardship clause, which will be part of the Renewable Energy Act, will only apply to very few companies. What the steel companies need is a more effective limitation of the burden to bear.