The European Commission has amended its steel safeguard measures by introducing new TARIC sub-codes to distinguish rebars from merchant bars and to ensure correct classification under the relevant TRQ categories, Kallanish notes from the Official Journal on 10 April.
The changes come without expanding the scope or changing duty-free volumes.
The measure targets product categories 12 (merchant bars) and 13 (rebars), where since 2025 significant rebar volumes have been imported under the merchant bar category by slightly modifying chemical composition to access larger duty-free quotas. This led to an abnormal rise in imports under CN code 7228 30 69, up around 250% in 2025, undermining the safeguard system, distorting traditional trade flows, and limiting access to quotas for genuine merchant bar suppliers and users.
To address this circumvention and restore market balance, the Commission has introduced new TARIC sub-codes, assigning rebars under 7228 30 69 11 and other products under 7228 30 69 99.
The decision enters into force immediately.
