The European Commission starts reviewing safeguard measures on steel imports

The European Commission has initiated a functional review of the EU’s safeguard measures against imports of steel products. This is stated in the report of the institution.

The review was initiated following a request from 13 member states at the end of November. They believe that such a procedure is necessary due to changes in trade flows.

As noted, the request contains evidence of changed circumstances since the last review of the measure, in particular, information on the decline in demand for steel in the EU and a sharp increase in Chinese exports, which displaced supplies from other markets to the European Union. Accordingly, these circumstances require a reassessment of the distribution of tariff quotas to eliminate imbalances in the market.

On 31 January 2019, the European Commission introduced definitive safeguard measures for certain steel products. The initial period of validity was three years, and it was extended twice, the last time until June 30, 2026.

The current measure consists of a tariff quota (TRQ) based on historical trade flows that applies to imports of 26 categories of steel products into the EU. Imports outside the quota are subject to a 25% duty.

Interested parties may submit written submissions to the EC by January 10, 2025, and questionnaires from producers in the bloc will be accepted until the same date.

The EC will complete the review by March 31, 2025. Any decision based on its results may be applied from the beginning of the new quarter (April 1, 2025), including the new TRQ volume.

According to the Argus, the market is actively discussing possible further anti-dumping investigations in addition to the case on hot rolled coils (HRC) from Egypt, Japan, India and Vietnam. The investigation may target hot-dip galvanized plates from Vietnam, plate steel from South Korea and Indonesia, HRC and downstream products from other countries, as well as cold-rolled coils from Taiwan and possibly other Asian sellers.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in June this year, the EU officially extended its safeguard measures on steel imports for another two years, until the end of June 2026. The bloc also imposed a 15 percent restriction on imports of hot-rolled coils and wire rod under the remaining quarterly quota in the “other countries” category for any individual country.