Some difficulties encountered in the implementation of safeguard measures on steel would require their early revision.
Since 2 February, the EU has applied definitive safeguard measures on steel to prevent any risk of diversion of steel exports to the European market resulting from US sanctions (see EUROPE 12185/4).
Until July 2021, 26 categories of steel products are thus subject to tariff quotas. On the one hand, a global quota has been created, based on the average of imports over the last three years; beyond this quota, a 25% duty is applied. On the other hand, some countries, known as historical suppliers, have also been allocated specific quotas.
The quotas are divided by quarter and have been available to exporters since April 2019.
Towards an early review?
A review of the measures is planned from 1 July 2019, to ensure that they are compliant and effective or can be improved.
At a meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade on 2 April, Leopoldo Rubinacci, Director in the Commission's Directorate-General for Trade, confirmed that a first overview of the quotas revealed that a large majority of them met European needs.
A few cases would stand out, however. Thus, Turkey has already reached 100% of its quota. Some industries have also reported difficulties in the supply of certain products.
More worrying is the case of Indonesia, which, benefiting from an exemption from the measures, as a developing country member of the WTO producing less than 3%, has seen its share of stainless steel exports increase drastically: from less than 15,000 tonnes in 2016 and 2017, it has increased to more than 80,000 tonnes in 2018.
The date of the review could therefore be brought forward, Rubinacci said.
The industry is concerned
In addition, under WTO rules, safeguard measures must be gradually liberalised. The Commission has therefore opted for a 5% increase in the tariff quota as from 1 July 2019.
A measure that alarms the steel industry: "The reality is that the 5% quota increase in July would be much higher than the growth expected in the European market. This ‘relaxation’ will therefore be a wider opening than necessary. It is this enlargement that worries the steel industry", a Eurofer spokesman told EUROPE. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)