First residual EU steel quota accessible from 1 April

Countries that have exhausted their own quotas under the first period of the EU's definitive safeguard will be able to compete for residual quota from 1 April.

The first period will run from 2 February until 30 June to avoid any break between the preliminary measures ending and definitive measures being implemented, and to synchronise the duration of the measures with the calendar periods as of 1 July. The second and third periods of the quotas run from 1 July 2019 until 30 June 2020, and 1 July 2020 until 30 June 2021.

Under the proposed safeguard, countries that have exhausted their own quotas can compete for the "other countries" or residual quota in the fourth quarter of the second and third periods. Sources suggest this will be the case from 1 April in period one.

In the first period the biggest beneficiary could be Turkey, as its own rebar quota of 117,231t could be fulfilled very quickly. The other countries quota for the first period is 217,775t, according to the European Commission's safeguard notification to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The definitive safeguard could theoretically change from the proposal sent to the WTO. It will be voted on by member states on 16 January.

The commission did not reply to requests for comment on when countries can compete for the residual quota in the safeguard's first period.

UK rebar buyers are particularly concerned with the quota. Since China was dumped in 2016 — after becoming half the UK market — Turkey has become by far and away the largest third-country Cares-approved supplier.

Traders in the UK immediately began to buy cargoes after Argus published the likely structure of the definitive quota on 28 December.