Commission introduces new monitoring system for steel and aluminium imports

The Commission is introducing a new system to monitor the imports into the EU of certain steel and aluminium products. The objective is to allow a rapid analysis of import trends, ahead of official Eurostat statistics.

The new monitoring system, which starts applying today, replaces the “prior surveillance” system introduced for steel in 2016 in the context of the crisis in the EU steel sector and for aluminium in April 2018, when the US introduced import restrictions on steel and aluminium.

It will respond better to the needs of the industrial sectors concerned, and is completely transparent. The new system is based on import statistics available two weeks after the actual imports, thus considerably earlier than the official Eurostat data. It offers a better assessment of the import situation as compared to the previous system, which was based on import intentions, not actual imports.

The relevant import statistics will be published and updated on a monthly basis on the Commission’s website.