EU countries tighten control over steel imports
On Wednesday, EU countries approved limits on steel quotas designed to protect European producers from the threat of a sharp increase in imports after the effective closure of the US market.
EU diplomats said the overwhelming majority of EU countries voted to support the changes proposed by the European Commission.
The European bloc has been operating a system of “protective” measures to control incoming steel for a year after the introduction of last year's Washington steel tariffs of 25 percent.
Quotas for 26 steel grades, including stainless steel, were established based on the average level of imports for the period 2015-2017. plus 5 percent, with a further 5 percent increase due in July 2020. Steel imports in excess of these quotas are subject to a 25 percent duty.
In response to industry complaints that a weak market cannot absorb increasing imports, the commission proposed to reduce the growth of quotas to 3 percent from October 1.
EU steel association Eurofer estimates that apparent steel consumption, including change in inventories, will decline 0.6 percent this year and increase 1.4 percent in 2020.
Last year, according to Eurofer, imports of finished steel products rose 12 percent, with an overall market growth of 3.3 percent.
The revised measures also limit the import of hot rolled flat products by any one country to 30 percent during the quarter.
The EU has also extended the measure to cover more products from developing countries previously on the exemption list.
Analysts say the changes could affect imports from Turkey and stainless steel from Indonesia.