Eleven EU member states have called on the European Commission to introduce new, stricter trade measures instead of steel guarantees from January 1 next year.
Earlier this week, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain published a joint "non-paper" calling on the EU to consider early termination of existing protective measures and the introduction of new trade measures early next year.
The aim is to help the struggling EU steel sector. a return to a sustainable level of capacity utilization close to 85%, and bringing the import market share to pre-crisis levels of 15% for flat rolled products and stainless steel and 5% for long products. According to observers, imports currently account for about 28-30% of the flat rolled products market in the EU.
The existing steel protection measures in force since 2019 were aimed at protecting steel producers in the EU from a potential increase in imports. The current measures expire on June 30, 2026.
"If necessary, an early termination of protective measures could be envisaged, consistent with the entry into force of the new mechanism, in order to ensure the best possible protection for the EU steel industry as early as possible. perhaps," the document says.
The new trading system should include a tariff quota system similar to the current version, but with significantly reduced duty-free quotas – 40-50% lower than current levels - and apply equally to all third countries, the member States say.
It should also prevent quota manipulation through gradual liberalization, extension of unused quotas, or inconsistent national customs procedures. Flexibility is of key importance – quota volumes should be adjusted depending on changes in demand in order to maintain a constant import share in the market.
The countries also proposed to increase the quota-free duty on imported steel to 40-50% from the current 25%, "in order to effectively limit imports to target market shares."
The proposed new system is based on tariff quotas with an additional customs duty on all imports in excess of this quota. But, ultimately, it may depend on the product, and not on the country, as is the case with existing measures, Fastmarkets sources suggested.
The proposal also suggests extending protective measures to steel products that are not currently subject to protective measures, including:
• Cast iron pipes, tubes and hollow profiles (CN 73 03 0010, 73 03 0090)
• Sheets of electrical steel with a granular structure
