The European Parliament has approved interagency negotiations on the steel trade regime
The plenary session of the European Parliament confirmed the decision of the Committee on International Trade (INTA) to begin interagency negotiations on the proposed new steel trade regime.
The Parliament, the Council and the Commission are now authorized to agree on the final version of the document before it returns to Parliament for reading. Time is crucial because once this is completed, the Commission will still need to negotiate access to the EU steel market with its free trade agreement partners before the new measure takes effect on July 1, Kallanish notes.
Last month, INTA voted to approve the proposed new steel trade regime, as amended.
The committee has since published a document summarizing its position. It says the proposed measure needs to be evaluated regularly to ensure increased production at highly competitive companies, and it "goes hand in hand with efforts to protect export markets and cooperate with like-minded trading partners to combat global overcapacity." It adds that annual reporting would correspond to this type of trading instrument.
The importance of the melting and casting rule was also emphasized to ensure product traceability and prevent circumvention. It is proposed that importers provide "verifiable" evidence at the time of import. This includes a factory certificate issued by the original steel manufacturer, indicating the corresponding smelting number and with the technical and production data necessary to trace the origin of the steel.
Steel imports from Russia and Belarus are prohibited. The import of slabs from Russia, which is currently subject to benefits and quotas, is subject to review.
"With respect to goods currently covered by paragraph (d) of Article 3g (1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 833/2014, effective until October 1, 2028, after the Russian invasion in 2022, a significant price gap has formed between goods originating from Russia and goods produced in Russia. Other third countries and such products originating from Russia have increased their market share relative to other third countries, especially in relation to Ukraine," the document says.
"These import flows also provide the Russian Federation with significant revenues, thereby directly contributing to its ability to wage aggressive war while maintaining strategic dependence. The European Commission should assess the practically unused capabilities of the Union's industry for the supply of such