The European Parliament's Committee on International Trade (INTA) has published its draft report on proposed trade measures that will replace the existing EU steel guarantees next year. This involves maintaining unused quarterly tariff quotas, providing greater flexibility in confirming the origin of "smelting and casting" and banning the supply of all steel from Russia and Belarus.
Karin Carlsbro, speaker and Deputy Chairman of the INTA committee, published the draft last week after receiving feedback from a fairly limited number of sector participants, including thyssenkrupp, Eurofer, Jernkontoret, the European Steel Processors Association and the European Association for External Relations with Metal Packaging ASBL, as well as some diplomatic institutions, Kallanish notes.
Unlike the European Commission's October proposal, which prohibited the transfer of unused quota volumes to the next quarter, Karlsbro's report says this should be allowed to ensure continuity and prevent supply disruptions.
It also expands the list of documents that must be accepted as confirmation of the country in which the steel used in production is "melted and bottled", compared with the Commission's proposal to accept only plant certificates.
Invoices; delivery notes; quality certificates; long-term declarations from suppliers; cost accounting and production documents; customs documents from the exporting country; commercial correspondence; product descriptions; or declarations made by the manufacturer, if they relate directly to the batch in question.
All goods from Russia and Belarus should be automatically banned.
Imports from Ukraine should be completely banned until there is a security emergency in that country.
The draft also suggests conducting more frequent re-evaluations of the new trade measure. The Commission should evaluate the effectiveness of this measure no later than within one year from the effective date. It must prepare an annual report on the implementation of this regulation and submit it to the European Parliament and the Council, as well as make it public.
Before the expiration of the second year from the date of entry into force of the regulation and every two years thereafter, the Commission must assess the evolution of the parameters that justified its adoption. The report suggests assessing not only the impact on the steel market, but also on subsequent value chains.
During a hearing earlier this year, INTA committee chairman Bernd Lange said Carlsbro planned to submit its report on the issue.
