WTO receives EC steel safeguards notification

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) this morning published the European Commission (EC) notification on its safeguard investigation findings, confirming the EU's plan to introduce definitive quotas on imports from 2 February.

Argus first reported the details of the proposed measures on 28 December.

The EU plans to impose tariff-rate quotas based on 2015-17 import volumes plus 5pc, and will be mostly on a country-by-country basis for all products except hot-rolled coil, which has a general quota.

Countries with "a significant supplying interest" will get country-by-country allocation, while others will import under a "residual quota", the remaining balance of which will become available to all exporters in the last quarter of the period.

In addition to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, there are 10 other countries excluded from the measures on the basis of existing economic partnership agreements, the most significant of which is South Africa.

The provisional quotas applied only to South Africa's stainless hot- and cold-rolled sheets and strips, but the EC announced on 13 November that these products would be excluded too.

Many developing countries are also excluded for most product categories. Major exporters Brazil, China, India, Turkey, Ukraine and others are subject to most of the quotas.

One key difference between the provisional quotas and the definitive ones is that bearing tubes and pipes are no longer covered with a quota, while the EC is planning to also introduce quotas for stainless hot-rolled quarto plate, railway material, other seamless tubes, non-alloy and other alloy cold finished bars, all of which were excluded from the pre-emptive measures. The EC expanded the list of products subject to the investigation at the end of June.

The EC said today that WTO members will now be able to consult with the commission before a final decision is taken. EU member states will also vote on the proposed measures in mid-January, and if adopted, the measures will enter into effect at the beginning of February.