The European Commission (EC) has announced that it has decided to impose provisional safeguard measures on 23 steel product categories, including rebar, hot rolled products and steel pipes, in the form of a 25 percent out-of-quota tariff. The provisional measures will be applied for 200 calendar days beginning from July 19.
The commission has preliminarily decided that the EU steel industry is in a situation of threat of serious injury for the 23 steel product categories under assessment and that this situation is likely to develop into actual serious injury in the foreseeable future.
According to the European Commission, the provisional safeguard measures are in the form of a system of tariff rate quotas in excess of which an additional duty will be paid. To ensure access to the EU market to all traditional suppliers, such tariff rate quotas will be based on the average of the annual level of imports in the years 2015, 2016, and 2017. Where the relevant tariff quota is exhausted or where imports of the product categories do not benefit from the relevant tariff quota, an additional duty at the rate of 25 percent will be levied. The countries to be affected most by the measures are Turkey and India with 14 products each, China with 13 products and Ukraine with 11 products.
The investigation was initiated on March 26 on imports of 26 steel product categories. However, on June 28, the commission also published a notice by which the investigation was extended to two additional product categories. All products are also subject to the US tariff measures under Section 232. However, the commission stated that there was not an increase in the imports of five product categories, and therefore it has excluded the five categories from the scope of the provisional measures, namely stainless hot rolled quarto plate, grain-oriented electrical sheet, railway material, other seamless tubes and non alloy and other alloy cold finished bars. The commission, nevertheless, reserves the right to include these five product categories in the scope of the definitive measures and to this effect will continue monitoring the imports within these categories.
The list of products subject to provisional safeguard measures can been seen in the table below:
| Product Number | Product category | CN Codes | Volume of tariff quota (net tonnes) | Additional duty rate |
| 1 | Non Alloy and Other Alloy Hot Rolled Sheets and Strips | 7208 10 00 , 7208 25 00 , 7208 26 00 , 7208 27 00 , 7208 36 00 , 7208 37 00 , 7208 38 00 , 7208 39 00 , 7208 40 00 , 7208 52 99 , 7208 53 90 , 7208 54 00 , 7211 14 00 , 7211 19 00 , 7212 60 00 , 7225 19 10 , 7225 30 10 , 7225 30 30 , 7225 30 90 , 7225 40 15 , 7225 40 90 , 7226 19 10 , 7226 91 20 , 7226 91 91 , 7226 91 99 | 4 269 009 | 25% |
| 2 | Non Alloy and Other Alloy Cold Rolled Sheets | 7209 15 00 , 7209 16 90 , 7209 17 90 , 7209 18 91 , 7209 25 00 , 7209 26 90 , 7209 27 90 , 7209 28 90 , 7209 90 20 , 7209 90 80 , 7211 23 20 , 7211 23 30 , 7211 23 80 , 7211 29 00 , 7211 90 20 , 7211 90 80 , 7225 50 20 , 7225 50 80 , 7226 20 00 , 7226 92 00 | 1 318 865 | 25% |
| 3 | Electrical Sheets (other than GOES) | 7209 16 10 , 7209 17 10 , 7209 18 10 , 7209 26 10 , 7209 27 10 , 7209 28 10 , 7225 19 90 , 7226 19 80 | 178 704 | 25% |
| 4 | Metallic Coated Sheets | 7210 20 00 , 7210 30 00 , 7210 41 00 , 7210 49 00 , 7210 61 00 , 7210 69 00 , 7210 90 80 , 7212 20 00 , 7212 30 00 , 7212 50 20 , 7212 50 30 , 7212 50 40 , 7212 50 61 , 7212 50 69 , 7212 50 90 , 7225 91 00 , 7225 92 00 , 7226 99 10 , 7226 99 30 , 7226 99 70 | 2 115 054 | 25% |
| 5 | Organic Coated Sheets | 7210 70 80 , 7212 40 80 | 414 324 | 25% |
| 6 | Tin Mill products | 7209 18 99 , 7210 11 00 , 7210 12 20 , 7210 12 80 , 7210 50 00 , 7210 70 10 , 7210 90 40 , 7212 10 10 , 7212 10 90 , 7212 40 20 | 367 470 | 25% |
| 7 | Non Alloy and Other Alloy Quarto Plates | 7208 51 20 , 7208 51 91 , 7208 51 98 , 7208 52 91 , 7208 90 20 , 7208 90 80 , 7210 90 30 , 7225 40 12 , 7225 40 40 , 7225 40 60 , 7225 99 00 | 1 442 988 | 25% |
| 8 | Stainless Hot Rolled Sheets and Strips | 7219 11 00 , 7219 12 10 , 7219 12 90 , 7219 13 10 , 7219 13 90 , 7219 14 10 , 7219 14 90 , 7219 22 10 , 7219 22 90 , 7219 23 00 , 7219 24 00 , 7220 11 00 , 7220 12 00 | 193 049 | 25% |
| 9 | Stainless Cold Rolled Sheets and Strips | 7219 31 00 , 7219 32 10 , 7219 32 90 , 7219 33 10 , 7219 33 90 , 7219 34 10 , 7219 34 90 , 7219 35 10 , 7219 35 90 , 7219 90 20 , 7219 90 80 , 7220 20 21 , 7220 20 29 , 7220 20 41 , 7220 20 49 , 7220 20 81 , 7220 20 89 , 7220 90 20 , 7220 90 80 | 476 161 | 25% |
| 12 | Non Alloy and Other Alloy Merchant Bars and Light Sections | 7214 30 00 , 7214 91 10 , 7214 91 90 , 7214 99 31 , 7214 99 39 , 7214 99 50 , 7214 99 71 , 7214 99 79 , 7214 99 95 , 7215 90 00 , 7216 10 00 , 7216 21 00 , 7216 22 00 , 7216 40 10 , 7216 40 90 , 7216 50 10 , 7216 50 91 , 7216 50 99 , 7216 99 00 , 7228 10 20 , 7228 20 10 , 7228 20 91 , 7228 30 20 , 7228 30 41 , 7228 30 49 , 7228 30 61 , 7228 30 69 , 7228 30 70 , 7228 30 89 , 7228 60 20 , 7228 60 80 , 7228 70 10 , 7228 70 90 , 7228 80 00 | 728 270 | 25% |
| 13 | Rebars | 7214 20 00 , 7214 99 10 | 714 964 | 25% |
| 14 | Stainless Bars and Light Sections | 7222 11 11 , 7222 11 19 , 7222 11 81 , 7222 11 89 , 7222 19 10 , 7222 19 90 , 7222 20 11 , 7222 20 19 , 7222 20 21 , 7222 20 29 , 7222 20 31 , 7222 20 39 , 7222 20 81 , 7222 20 89 , 7222 30 51 , 7222 30 91 , 7222 30 97 , 7222 40 10 , 7222 40 50 , 7222 40 90 | 82 156 | 25% |
| 15 | Stainless Wire Rod | 7221 00 10 , 7221 00 90 | 32 744 | 25% |
| 16 | Non Alloy and Other Alloy Wire Rod | 7213 10 00 , 7213 20 00 , 7213 91 10 , 7213 91 20 , 7213 91 41 , 7213 91 49 , 7213 91 70 , 7213 91 90 , 7213 99 10 , 7213 99 90 , 7227 10 00 , 7227 20 00 , 7227 90 10 , 7227 90 50 , 7227 90 95 | 1 058 110 | 25% |
| 17 | Angles, Shapes and Sections of Iron or Non Alloy Steel | 7216 31 10 , 7216 31 90 , 7216 32 11 , 7216 32 19 , 7216 32 91 , 7216 32 99 , 7216 33 10 , 7216 33 90 | 167 817 | 25% |
| 18 | Sheet Piling | 7301 10 00 | 24 854 | 25% |
| 20 | Gas pipes | 7306 30 41 , 7306 30 49 , 7306 30 72 , 7306 30 77 | 185 280 | 25% |
| 21 | Hollow sections | 7306 61 10 , 7306 61 92 , 7306 61 99 | 387 343 | 25% |
| 22 | Seamless Stainless Tubes and Pipes | 7304 11 00 , 7304 22 00 , 7304 24 00 , 7304 41 00 , 7304 49 10 , 7304 49 93 , 7304 49 95 , 7304 49 99 | 22 818 | 25% |
| 23 | Bearing Tubes and Pipes | 7304 51 12 , 7304 51 18 , 7304 59 32 , 7304 59 38 | 5 549 | 25% |
| 25 | Large welded tubes | 7305 11 00 , 7305 12 00 , 7305 19 00 , 7305 20 00 , 7305 31 00 , 7305 39 00 , 7305 90 00 | 258 133 | 25% |
| 26 | Other Welded Pipes | 7306 11 10 , 7306 11 90 , 7306 19 10 , 7306 19 90 , 7306 21 00 , 7306 29 00 , 7306 30 11 , 7306 30 19 , 7306 30 80 , 7306 40 20 , 7306 40 80 , 7306 50 20 , 7306 50 80 , 7306 69 10 , 7306 69 90 , 7306 90 00 | 296 274 | 25% |
| 28 | Non Alloy Wire | 7217 10 10 , 7217 10 31 , 7217 10 39 , 7217 10 50 , 7217 10 90 , 7217 20 10 , 7217 20 30 , 7217 20 50 , 7217 20 90 , 7217 30 41 , 7217 30 49 , 7217 30 50 , 7217 30 90 , 7217 90 20 , 7217 90 50 , 7217 90 90 | 393 031 | 25% |