25/11/14
EU states to vote on TRQ, variable duty alloy safeguard
London, 14 November (Argus) — The European Commission has proposed safeguard
measures that combine tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) and out-of-quota variable duties
on ferro-manganese, ferro-silicon, ferro-silico-manganese and
ferro-silico-magnesium, in order to support EU ferro-alloy production and market
share. EU member states are set to vote on the measures on 17 November. The
commission's proposed measures were circulated by the World Trade Organisation
at the request of the EU on 12 November. The EU declined to comment on the
document. The vote was postponed from today and is the culmination of a
safeguard investigation initiated in December 2024. The measures seek to protect
seven ferro-alloy producers that have lost significant market share to
lower-priced third-country imports. The commission acknowledged that buyers
benefit from low prices but argued that protective measures are in the economic
and strategic interest of the EU because they ensure a viable domestic industry
and steady ferro-alloy supply for EU end-markets. Safeguards to combine TRQ,
out-of-quota variable duty The proposed measures set a tariff-rate quota for
duty free entry into the EU for each product. Imports in excess of the quota are
subject to an out-of-quota variable duty that is the difference between an
established price threshold for each product ( see table ) and the actual import
price. The quota quantities are equivalent to 75pc of the EU's average imports
of each product in 2022-24. This aims to give a 30-40pc "sustainable" market
share to European producers, while still maintaining "adequate" supply for
downstream users. The annual quota is divided into four three-month segments,
starting on 18 November. If excess imports are made at the level of the price
threshold or above, no duty needs to be paid. If imports are made at a lower
price, the duty paid would be equal to the difference between the net free-at-EU
frontier (cif) price and the respective price threshold. The thresholds are set
at a "non-injurious price for ferro-alloy imports" determined by the cost of
domestic sales for each product type, with added compliance costs, investments
and a target profit. But some market participants view the price thresholds as
detached from reality. The threshold proposed by the commission is €2,408/t
($2,800/t) cif Europe, which is almost double the actual market price today.
Argus assessed ferro-silicon prices at €1,180-1,235/t ddp Europe on 13 November.
The excessive size of the threshold means end-users will substitute the alloy
with silicon metal or other alternative products, which makes it unlikely the
ferro-silicon quota will be met and therefore the threshold will not be a
factor, a ferro-silicon producer told Argus . Norway, Iceland subject to
measures The proposed measures would apply to imports from European Economic
Area (EEA) member states Norway and Iceland, affecting major producers such as
Elkem and Finnfjord. The ferro-alloy industry association that was the driving
force behind the safeguard investigation, Euroalliages, called for the exclusion
of Norway and Iceland from the measures, in a recent interview with Argus . The
measures should not apply to either country for reasons of economic integration
with the EU economy and business ties, secretary-general Bob Lambrechts said.
But Norway and Iceland have inflicted sustained economic injury on EU
ferro-alloy producers and the proposed measures satisfy the requirements of
Articles 112 and 113, which set out conditions and procedures for safeguards,
the commission said. Norway and Iceland supplied 47.4pc of total EU imports last
year. Those imports were priced below EU producers' but were noticeably higher
than imports from third countries such as India. Silicon excluded Silicon metal
imports into the EU did not increase between 2019-24, according to the
commission's analysis. Silicon metal was consequently excluded from further
investigations and the resulting safeguards. The EU imported 334,861t of silicon
in 2024, near flat against 2019 imports of 335,415t, Eurostat data show. Imports
decreased to 326,372t in the most recent reported 12-month period, 1 July
2024-30 June 2025. The commission analysed imports relative to production and
consumption of ferro-alloys, but it is not clear whether this analysis was done
for silicon. Absolute import volumes have not increased, but EU silicon
production and consumption have decreased sharply in recent years due to lower
demand from aluminium alloy and silicone producers. And EU producers are not
able to compete against lower-priced imports from third countries. All EU
silicon metal production is currently off line due to untenable market
conditions, with shutdowns executed in France, Spain, Germany and
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Silicon metal may be affected indirectly if steel mills
substitute silicon metal for ferro-silicon, although this is dependent on
adjustment of production processes and ferro-silicon prices. Major producer
Ferroglobe expressed concern that silicon was excluded from these measures, but
welcomed "the commission's commitment to address this in a second step in the
coming months". The EU has not publicly communicated any additional trade
defence investigations for silicon metal. By Maeve Flaherty and Samuel Wood
Price thresholds for tariff increase €/t Product type HS / CN codes Price
threshold Ferro-manganese 7202 11, 7202 19 1,316 Ferro-silicon 7202 21, 7202 29
2,408 Ferro-silico-manganese 7202 30 1,392 Ferro-silico-magnesium 7202 99 30
3,647 — WTO, European Commission Volumes of tariff–rate quotas - Year 1 Product
type HS and CN codes Allocation by country (where applicable) Year 1 From
18.11.2025 to 17.2.2026 From 18.2.2026 to 17.5.2026 From 18.5.2026 to 17.8.2026
From 18.8.2026 to 17.11.2026 Volume of tariff quota (net tonnes) Ferro-Manganese
7202 11. 7202 19 Norway 28,972.70 28,027.93 28,972.70 28,972.70 India 17,625.79
17,051.04 17,625.79 17,625.79 South Africa 8,272.87 8,003.10 8,272.87 8,272.87
Malaysia 6,765.92 6,545.29 6,765.92 6,765.92 South Korea 4,832.82 4,675.23
4,832.82 4,832.82 Other countries 5,557.54 5,376.31 5,557.54 5,557.54
Ferro-Silicon 7202 21. 7202 29 Norway 35,136.16 33,990.41 35,136.16 35,136.16
Iceland 13,373.32 12,937.24 13,373.32 13,373.32 Kazakhstan 8,090.25 7,826.44
8,090.25 8,090.25 Brazil 6,316.02 6,110.06 6,316.02 6,316.02 Other countries
24,984.27 24,169.56 24,984.27 24,984.27 Ferro-Silico-Magnesium 7202 99 30 China
468.90 453.61 468.90 468.90 Brazil 99.81 96.55 99.81 99.81 India 78.90 76.33
78.90 78.90 Thailand 76.83 74.32 76.83 76.83 Other countries 18.89 18.28 18.89
18.89 Ferro-Silico-Manganese 7202 30 Norway 37,067.71 35,858.98 37,067.71
37,067.71 India 31,958.61 30,916.48 31,958.61 31,958.61 Zambia 7,882.49 7,625.45
7,882.49 7,882.49 Other countries 18,955.56 18,337.44 18,955.56 18,955.56 - WTO,
European Commission Volumes of tariff–rate quotas - Year 2 Product type HS and
CN codes Allocation by country (where applicable) Year 2 From 18.11.2026 to
17.2.2027 From 18.11.2026 to 17.2.2027 From 18.11.2026 to 17.2.2027 From
18.11.2026 to 17.2.2027 Volume of tariff quota (net tonnes) Ferro-Manganese 7202
11. 7202 19 Norway 29,001.67 28,055.96 29,001.67 29,001.67 India 17,643.42
17,068.09 17,643.42 17,643.42 South Africa 8,281.14 8,011.10 8,281.14 8,281.14
Malaysia 6,772.68 6,551.83 6,772.68 6,772.68 South Korea 4,837.65 4,679.90
4,837.65 4,837.65 Other countries 5,563.09 5,381.69 5,563.09 5,563.09
Ferro-Silicon 7202 21. 7202 29 Norway 35,171.30 34,024.41 35,171.30 35,171.30
Iceland 13,386.70 12,950.18 13,386.70 13,386.70 Kazakhstan 8,098.34 7,834.27
8,098.34 8,098.34 Brazil 6,322.34 6,116.17 6,322.34 6,322.34 Other countries
25,009.25 24,193.73 25,009.25 25,009.25 Ferro-Silico-Magnesium 7202 99 30 China
469.37 454.07 469.37 469.37 Brazil 99.91 96.65 99.91 99.91 India 78.98 76.40
78.98 78.98 Thailand 76.91 74.40 76.91 76.91 Other countries 18.91 18.30 18.91
18.91 Ferro-Silico-Manganese 7202 30 Norway 37,104.78 35,894.84 37,104.78
37,104.78 India 31,990.57 30,947.40 31,990.57 31,990.57 Zambia 7,890.37 7,633.08
7,890.37 7,890.37 Other countries 18,974.51 18,355.78 18,974.51 18,974.51 — WTO,
European Commission Volumes of tariff–rate quotas - Year 3 Product type HS and
CN codes Allocation by country (where applicable) Year 3 From 18.11.2027 to
17.2.2028 From 18.11.2027 to 17.2.2028 From 18.11.2027 to 17.2.2028 From
18.11.2027 to 17.2.2028 Volume of tariff quota (net tonnes) Ferro-Manganese 7202
11. 7202 19 Norway 28,951.35 28,321.98 28,951.35 28,951.35 India 17,612.81
17,229.92 17,612.81 17,612.81 South Africa 8,266.77 8,087.06 8,266.77 8,266.77
Malaysia 6,760.93 6,613.95 6,760.93 6,760.93 Korea. Republic of 4,829.26
4,724.28 4,829.26 4,829.26 Other countries 5,553.44 5,432.71 5,553.44 5,553.44
Ferro-Silicon 7202 21. 7202 29 Norway 35,110.27 34,347.01 35,110.27 35,110.27
Iceland 13,363.47 13,072.96 13,363.47 13,363.47 Kazakhstan 8,084.29 7,908.55
8,084.29 8,084.29 Brazil 6,311.37 6,174.16 6,311.37 6,311.37 Other countries
24,965.86 24,423.13 24,965.86 24,965.86 Ferro-Silico-Magnesium 7202 99 30 China
468.56 458.37 468.56 468.56 Brazil 99.73 97.56 99.73 99.73 India 78.84 77.13
78.84 78.84 Thailand 76.77 75.10 76.77 76.77 Other countries 18.88 18.47 18.88
18.88 Ferro-Silico-Manganese 7202 30 Norway 37,040.40 36,235.18 37,040.40
37,040.40 India 31,935.07 31,240.83 31,935.07 31,935.07 Zambia 7,876.68 7,705.45
7,876.68 7,876.68 Other countries 18,941.59 18,529.82 18,941.59 18,941.59 — WTO,
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