Exporting countries have almost exhausted EU quotas for the first quarter for some items

Quotas on imports of long products by some countries have actually been selected despite weak consumption in the EU

According to the European Commission, as the end of the current quota period (January-March) approaches, some of the import quotas for certain types of steel products are close to being exhausted, in particular long products, although consumption of these products in the EU is weak. This was reported by SteelOrbis.

In particular, Türkiye has exhausted 99.51% of its quota for the first quarter for alloy and non-alloy steel wire rod (the quota for this period was 145.17 thousand tons). India has almost chosen the volumes for stainless steel bars and light profiles (31.29 thousand tons out of 31.33 thousand), and another 1.84 thousand tons of these products are awaiting customs clearance. Thus, the quota for Indian stainless steel bars and light profiles will be slightly exceeded.

India has also chosen 91.83% of its quota for hot rolled coils (HRC) made of alloy or non-alloy steel (574.44 thousand tons), and has exhausted its imports of coated steel sheets.

China has exhausted its January-March quotas for large welded pipes (25B) and other welded pipes in the amount of 8.34 kt and 7.97 kt, respectively, as well as 90.81% of the quota for other seamless pipes.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the Spanish steel producers’ association Unesid said that in 2023 the country’s economy lost €55 million due to imports of pipes from China declared as structures for photovoltaic installations. According to the association’s CEO Andrés Barceló, some importers declare these products as components for solar energy to circumvent European regulation of steel imports.