EU postpones sections quota adjustment to August

The removal of the 15% cap on the EU’s safeguard quota for steel sections will be postponed till 1 August, as the initial date of 1 July could not be upheld, the EU says in a note to the WTO Committee on Safeguards.

The adjustment affects Category 17 – angles, shapes, and sections of iron or non-alloy steel, under CN codes 7216 31 10, 7216 31 90, 7216 32 11, 7216 32 19, 7216 32 91, 7216 32 99, 7216 33 10, and 7216 33 90, Kallanish notes.

To swiftly restore traditional trade flows, the EU said previously it plans to remove the 15% country-specific import cap and reintroduce country-specific quotas for the UK, Türkiye, and Korea, along with a residual quota.

A 40% limit will apply to the residual quota, and quota holders will be excluded from accessing it during the final quarter of the safeguard year.

For the transition period from 1 August to 30 September 2025, quota volumes will be allocated on a pro-rata basis, based on remaining global quota balances as of 31 July.

Additionally, the EU proposes corrections to technical inaccuracies, including adjustments to footnotes and the removal of a cap in Category 4B.

The EU safeguard measure will remain in place until 30 June 2026, with a continued annual liberalisation rate of 0.1%.

Consultations with interested exporting members are scheduled for 22 and 23 July.

Elina Virchenko Ukraine