Spanish steel maker halts sales to Israel after BDS and union pressure

Spanish steel multinational Sidenor has announced a halt to all sales to Israel following pressure from pro-Palestinian groups and unions over its role in the Gaza war. 

According to reports, the firm's plant in the Basque Country shipped roughly 1,207 tons of steel in three deliveries to the port of Haifa since August 2024.

The shipments included materials destined for IMI Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer supplying weapons and munitions to the Israeli forces to support their relentless bombardment of civilians in Gaza.  

Basque unions ELA, LAB and ESK, alongside the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, demanded the suspension of Sidenor's trade relations with Israel involving a shipment of steel scheduled to depart from Barcelona last Tuesday. 

"UN legal experts agree: transferring military equipment (including dual-use items such as military-grade steel) to a state that imposes a system of apartheid and illegal occupation, a state that is committing genocide and waging wars of aggression against sovereign states in the region, as determined by the International Court of Justice, violates international law," the unions said in a statement. 

Sidenor is just one of several companies in Spain's autonomous Basque region, including transportation firms CAF and Metro Bilbao, who have been condemned over their continuous trading deals with Israel. 

The Basque country is a stronghold of support for the Palestinian cause.

Pressures against companies intensify 

Following Sidenor's latest announcement, LAB hailed it as a "success" for Basque solidarity with Palestine. The union also stated that it will remain "vigilant to ensure that Sidenor's announcement is fulfilled." It also called on Confebask and CEN to follow its example and suspend all collaboration with the Israeli "war machine."

The union also urged other companies to follow and cease any collaboration with Israel’s military-industrial complex.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian Community of Catalonia filed a complaint with Spain’s National Court against both Sidenor and the ZIM Luanda ship.

The complaint accuses Sidenor of "possible commission of a smuggling crime" and demands "urgent measures" such as searching the container that allegedly housed the material and seizing it.

Another activist group, Prou Complicitat Amb Israel (Enough Israel complicity), reported that the ship ZIM Luanda which sailed from Barcelona on Monday contained 40 blocks of steel bars from Sidenor destined for the manufacture of weapons for Israel in Haifa. 

The legal complaint also claims that there are grounds "there could be a crime of genocide and crimes against humanity".

Since Israel intensified its attacks against the besieged Gaza Strip, boycott campaigns against companies that do business with Israel have increased. BDS said that "the spread of boycotts against Israeli and multinational corporations can be effective if done strategically."

"We must target companies that play a clear and direct role in Israel's crimes and where there is real potential for profit, as was the case with, among others, G4S, Veolia, Orange, Ben & Jerry's, and Pillsbury," the pro-Palestine group said.