The European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) has published its draft report on the proposed trade measure to replace existing EU steel safeguards next year. This suggests allowing the carry-over of unused quarterly tariff quota volumes, providing more flexibility on “melt and pour” origin proof, and banning all steel from Russia and Belarus.
Rapporteur and INTA Committee vice chair Karin Karlsbro published the draft last week after receiving feedback from a fairly limited number of sector participants including thyssenkrupp, Eurofer, Jernkontoret, the European Steel Processors Association and Metal Packaging Europe External Affairs ASBL, as well as certain diplomatic bodies, Kallanish notes.
Unlike the European Commission’s proposal in October, which prohibited the carry-over of unused quota volumes into the following quarter, Karlsbro’s report suggests this should be permitted to ensure continuity and avoid supply disruptions.
It also expands the list of documents to be accepted as proof of the country of “melt and pour” of the steel used in the production, compared to the Commission’s proposal to accept only mill certificates.
Also to be permitted are invoices; delivery notes; quality certificates; long-term declarations from suppliers; cost accounting and production documents; customs documents from the exporting country; commercial correspondence; production descriptions; or declarations made by the manufacturer if they relate directly to the consignment in question.
All products from Russia and Belarus should meanwhile be subject to an automatic prohibition.
Imports originating in Ukraine should be fully exempted for as long as that country is facing an exceptional and immediate security situation.
The draft also proposes more frequent re-evaluations of the new trade measure. The Commission should assess the measure’s effectiveness at the latest within one year from the date of entry into force. It should draw up an annual report on the implementation of this regulation and submit it to the European Parliament and to the Council, while also making it public.
Before the end of the second year from the date of entry into force of the regulation, and every two years thereafter, the Commission should evaluate the evolution of the parameters that justified its adoption. Besides the impact on the steel market, the effect on downstream value chains must also be assessed, the report suggests.
During a hearing earlier this year, INTA Committee chair Bernd Lange said Karlsbro was scheduled to present her report on the matter on 2 December, after which it would be open for amendments and a vote by the ITRE Committee by mid-January. Parliament was expected to vote on the final report in February (see Kallanish passim).
Adam Smith Austria
