No money for metal

The government has twice over the last month rejected calls for financial support from big businesses. First, leading developer Samolet was denied help, and now the entire ferrous metals sector is also being turned away.

• First Deputy PM Denis Manturov this week held a meeting on whether to support the metals industry, at which it was decided that anti-crisis measures would only be considered on a case-by-case basis, provided there was clear proof of financial difficulties. In other words, a sector-wide bailout was taken off the table.
• The crux of the matter is the tax on liquid steel, introduced in 2022 to capture a slice of excess profits. It is paid when steel prices are above 30,000 rubles a ton. In 2024, companies paid about 73 billion rubles ($930 million) through the tariff. But metal companies claim that the tax, which is based on the super-profitable market of 2021, no longer reflects reality. Inflation and rising costs have effectively devalued the threshold and at current prices even the most efficient foundries are operating on the brink of a loss.
• The trade and industry ministry proposed relief in the form of a six-month deferral on excise tax and extraction taxes on iron ore. But the finance ministry opposed the measure. The ministry said it saw no reason at the moment to change the tax framework and suggested that any request for deferral should go to a government commission on a case-by-case basis. However, the finance ministry did not rule out proposing an equivalent tax on imported products and promised to make a decision this month.
• Russia’s metals industry is facing one of its toughest periods in recent decades. In December, the Russian Steel Association warned the government that the crisis could be the longest in the history of the industry.
• The problems are structural. High interest rates have greatly suppressed demand from the construction and mechanical engineering sectors, the main buyers of steel. According to the industry, domestic demand was down 18%, or by some 7.5 million tons, in 2025. The strong ruble, which eats into export margins, only adds to the problem.

Why the world should care

The government is gradually moving away from large-scale industry bailouts. After several years of active support for key sectors, Moscow’s new priority is fiscal discipline. This means reducing the influence of large industry lobbies. For businesses, 2026 could be the moment when, for the first time in many years, the state stops being an automatic insurance provider in the face of sector-wide crises.

French version edited by Marika Ruggiero, German version edited by Jan Möller