EU to impose definitive safeguard measures on certain steel products

A duty of 25% will apply when the level of traditional trade flows is reached.

The European Commission notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that it intends to impose definitive safeguard measures on certain steel products. The definitive measures will replace the provisional measures in place in the European Union (EU) since July 2018.

The proposed measures will be imposed against imports from all origins of 26 steel product categories. They consist of tariff-rate quota by which a duty of 25% will apply when the level of the traditional trade flows is reached.

This system is similar to the provisional measures currently in place, with some variances in order to preserve traditional trade flows. For example, the main supplying countries will benefit from individual quotas based on their own historical imports.

Once adopted, these measures should remain in place for a period of three years, including the period of imposition of the provisional measures, expiring on 16 July 2021.

The Commission’s findings were previously submitted to EU Member States who will vote in mid-January on the Commission’s intended course of action. Following their adoption by the Commission, the definitive measures could enter into force in the beginning of February 2019.

The notification to the WTO is a necessary step under the WTO Safeguards Agreement and allows time for affected WTO members to hold consultations with the EU.

Link: Commission intends to impose definitive safeguard measures on imports of certain steel products