Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 of 31 January 2019 imposing definitive safeguard measures against imports of certain steel products

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159of 31 January 2019imposing definitive safeguard measures against imports of certain steel products

Article 11.Subject to Articles 6 and 7, a tariff quota is hereby opened in relation to imports into the Union of each of the 26 products categories concerned (defined by reference to the CN codes specified in relation to it in Annex I) and each of the periods specified in Annex IV.1 and IV.2.2.For each of the product categories concerned, and with the exception of product categories 7, 8, 17 and 25a, a part of each tariff-rate quota is allocated to the countries specified in Annex IV.3.The remaining part of each tariff-rate quota, as well as the tariff-rate quota for product categories 7, 8, 17 and 25a, shall be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, based on a tariff-rate quota established equally for each quarter of the period of imposition.4.The drawings on each quarterly quota shall be stopped on the twentieth working day of the Commission following the end of the quarterly period. At the end of each quarter, the unused balances of the tariff-rate quota shall automatically be transferred to the next quarter. No unused balance at the end of the last quarter of each year of application of the definitive tariff-rate quota shall be transferred.5.Where the relevant tariff-rate quota under paragraph 2 is exhausted for one specific country, imports from that country for some product categories can be made under the remaining part of the tariff-rate quota for the same product category. This provision shall only apply during the last quarter of each year of application of the definitive tariff-rate quota. For product categories 3B, 14, 16, 20 and 26 no further access to the remaining part of the tariff-rate quota will be allowed. For product categories 2, 3A, 4A, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25B, 27 and 28 only access to a specific volume within the tariff-rate quota volume initially available in the last quarter, will be allowed. In product categories 1 and 4B no exporting country shall be allowed to use, on its own, more than 30 % of the residual tariff-rate quota volume initially available in the last quarter of each year of application of measures.6.Where the relevant tariff-rate quota is exhausted or where imports of the product categories do not benefit from the relevant tariff-rate quota, an additional duty at the rate of 25 %, applicable to the net, free-at-Union-frontier price, before duty, shall be applied on the product categories set out in Annex IV.1.7.A maximum import volume of 15 % per country of the available free-of duty quota at the beginning of the quarter established in Annex IV.1 to this Regulation shall be applicable to countries importing through the "Other countries" quota in product categories 1 and 16. The maximum import volume applies to countries not having a country specific quota and is applicable in all quarters.

Article 21.The origin of any product to which this Regulation applies shall be determined in accordance with the provisions in force in the Union relating to non-preferential origin.2.Unless otherwise specified, the provisions in force concerning customs duties shall apply. The default interest to be paid in case of reimbursement that gives rise to a right to payment of default interest shall be the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its principal refinancing operations, as published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union, in force on the first calendar day of the month in which the deadline falls, increased by one percentage point.

Article 3The tariff-rate quotas set out in Article 1 shall be managed by the Commission and the Member States in accordance with the management system for tariff-rate quotas provided for in Articles 49 to 54 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.

Article 4The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure compliance with this Regulation.

Article 51.Subject to paragraph 2, imports of the 26 product categories specified in Annex IV originating in one of the countries specified in Annex III shall not be subject to the measures contained in Article 1.2.For each of the 26 product categories specified in Annex IV, Annex III.2 specifies the originating countries which shall be subject to the measures set out in Article 1.

Article 61.Products originating in Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein shall not be subject to the measures set out in Article 1.2.Mozambique shall also not be subject to the measures set out in Article 1.

Article 7Prior surveillance measures in force by means of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/670Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/670 of 28 April 2016 introducing prior Union surveillance of imports of certain iron and steel products originating in certain third countries (OJ L 115, 29.4.2016, p. 37). shall be suspended for the products mentioned in Annex IV during the time of the imposition of safeguard measures set out in Article 1.

Article 8During the period set out in Annexes IV.1 and IV.2 the Commission may review the measures in case of change of circumstances.

Article 9Any amounts paid in respect of additional duties imposed pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013 in relation to the products specified in Annex IV of this Regulation shall be definitively collected at the level set in Article 1(3) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013.

Article 10This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.It shall apply until 30 June 2026.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.ANNEX IProduct concerned

Product Number	Product category	CN Codes
1	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Hot Rolled Sheets and Strips	72081000, 72082500, 72082600, 72082700, 72083600, 72083700, 72083800, 72083900, 72084000, 72085210, 72085299, 72085310, 72085390, 72085400, 72111300, 72111400, 72111900, 72126000, 72251910, 72253010, 72253030, 72253090, 72254015, 72254090, 72261910, 72269120, 72269191, 72269199
2	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Cold Rolled Sheets	72091500, 72091690, 72091790, 72091891, 72092500, 72092690, 72092790, 72092890, 72099020, 72099080, 72112320, 72112330, 72112380, 72112900, 72119020, 72119080, 72255020, 72255080, 72262000, 72269200
3	Electrical Sheets (other than GOES)	72091610, 72091710, 72091810, 72092610, 72092710, 72092810, 72251990, 72261980
4	Metallic Coated Sheets	72102000, 72103000, 72104100, 72104900, 72106100, 72106900, 72109080, 72122000, 72123000, 72125020, 72125030, 72125040, 72125061, 72125069, 72125090, 72259100, 72259200, 72259900, 72269910, 72269930, 72269970
5	Organic Coated Sheets	72107080, 72124080
6	Tin Mill products	72091899, 72101100, 72101220, 72101280, 72105000, 72107010, 72109040, 72121010, 72121090, 72124020
7	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Quarto Plates	72085120, 72085191, 72085198, 72085291, 72089020, 72089080, 72109030, 72254012, 72254040, 72254060
8	Stainless Hot Rolled Sheets and Strips	72191100, 72191210, 72191290, 72191310, 72191390, 72191410, 72191490, 72192210, 72192290, 72192300, 72192400, 72201100, 72201200
9	Stainless Cold Rolled Sheets and Strips	72193100, 72193210, 72193290, 72193310, 72193390, 72193410, 72193490, 72193510, 72193590, 72199020, 72199080, 72202021, 72202029, 72202041, 72202049, 72202081, 72202089, 72209020, 72209080
10	Stainless Hot Rolled Quarto Plates	72192110, 72192190
11	Grain-Oriented Electrical Sheet	72251100, 72261100
12	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Merchant Bars and Light Sections	72143000, 72149110, 72149190, 72149931, 72149939, 72149950, 72149971, 72149979, 72149995, 72159000, 72161000, 72162100, 72162200, 72164010, 72164090, 72165010, 72165091, 72165099, 72169900, 72281020, 72282010, 72282091, 72283020, 72283041, 72283049, 72283061, 72283069, 72283070, 72283089, 72286020, 72286080, 72287010, 72287090, 72288000
13	Rebars	72142000, 72149910
14	Stainless Bars and Light Sections	72221111, 72221119, 72221181, 72221189, 72221910, 72221990, 72222011, 72222019, 72222021, 72222029, 72222031, 72222039, 72222081, 72222089, 72223051, 72223091, 72223097, 72224010, 72224050, 72224090
15	Stainless Wire Rod	72210010, 72210090
16	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Wire Rod	72131000, 72132000, 72139110, 72139120, 72139141, 72139149, 72139170, 72139190, 72139910, 72139990, 72271000, 72272000, 72279010, 72279050, 72279095
17	Angles, Shapes and Sections of Iron or Non Alloy Steel	72163110, 72163190, 72163211, 72163219, 72163291, 72163299, 72163310, 72163390
18	Sheet Piling	73011000
19	Railway Material	73021022, 73021028, 73021040, 73021050, 73024000
20	Gas pipes	73063041, 73063049, 73063072, 73063077
21	Hollow sections	73066110, 73066192, 73066199
22	Seamless Stainless Tubes and Pipes	73041100, 73042200, 73042400, 73044100, 73044910, 73044993, 73044995, 73044999
23	Bearing Tubes and Pipes	73045112, 73045118, 73045932, 73045938
24	Other Seamless Tubes	73041910, 73041930, 73041990, 73042300, 73042910, 73042930, 73042990, 73043120, 73043180, 73043910, 73043952, 73043958, 73043992, 73043993, 73043998, 73045181, 73045189, 73045910, 73045992, 73045993, 73045999, 73049000
25	Large welded tubes	73051100, 73051200, 73051900, 73052000, 73053100, 73053900, 73059000
26	Other Welded Pipes	73061110, 73061190, 73061910, 73061990, 73062100, 73062900, 73063011, 73063019, 73063080, 73064020, 73064080, 73065020, 73065080, 73066910, 73066990, 73069000
27	Non-alloy and other alloy cold finished bars	72151000, 72155011, 72155019, 72155080, 72281090, 72282099, 72285020, 72285040, 72285061, 72285069, 72285080
28	Non Alloy Wire	72171010, 72171031, 72171039, 72171050, 72171090, 72172010, 72172030, 72172050, 72172090, 72173041, 72173049, 72173050, 72173090, 72179020, 72179050, 72179090

ANNEX IIII.1 — Growth in imports for the 26 product categories (in tonnes)

Product Number	Product category	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	MRP	Growth MRP compared to 2013
1	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Hot Rolled Sheets and Strips	4867242	5263815	7854395	8610847	7048217	7209718	48 %
2	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Cold Rolled Sheets	1837875	1906067	2761337	2007299	2463937	2463941	34 %
3	Electrical Sheets (other than GOES)	266355	284376	279777	312647	377744	433526	63 %
4	Metallic Coated Sheets	1855325	2203135	2688830	3924906	5019132	4637052	150 %
5	Organic Coated Sheets	681646	725004	622482	730619	919000	937693	38 %
6	Tin Mill products	549941	660743	634722	754638	616810	735928	34 %
7	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Quarto Plates	1439430	1968634	2573220	2834744	2549694	2374170	65 %
8	Stainless Hot Rolled Sheets and Strips	157197	213885	247090	326631	407886	408468	160 %
9	Stainless Cold Rolled Sheets and Strips	645004	954179	697199	753058	869091	972415	51 %
10	Stainless Hot Rolled Quarto Plates	26799	34700	31586	25995	27704	28677	7 %
12	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Merchant Bars and Light Sections	942999	1265397	1233328	1429511	1419973	1792392	90 %
13	Rebars	528702	972572	1430000	1292936	1191379	1755338	232 %
14	Stainless Bars and Light Sections	114638	149670	144875	149499	161973	184811	61 %
15	Stainless Wire Rod	52068	71209	57542	58659	63022	69786	34 %
16	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Wire Rod	1107169	1267308	1694707	2001322	2093877	2354164	113 %
17	Angles, Shapes and Sections of Iron or Non Alloy Steel	222797	274863	267851	387353	262759	373732	68 %
18	Sheet Piling	15871	16497	14051	36683	84549	83502	426 %
19	Railway Material	14587	25532	23202	12494	18232	23013	58 %
20	Gas pipes	275378	349078	314471	354261	401410	445569	62 %
21	Hollow sections	485038	578426	602190	757274	862889	956360	97 %
22	Seamless Stainless Tubes and Pipes	42417	55590	54948	51614	49593	49781	17 %
24	Other Seamless Tubes	440696	509052	448761	448333	410822	480600	9 %
25	Large welded tubes	295502	418808	218549	171512	1053049	720886	144 %
26	Other Welded Pipes	462137	484915	494914	526634	551764	558457	21 %
27	Non-alloy and other alloy cold finished bars	446086	514066	479271	454924	454921	501232	12 %
28	Non Alloy Wire	555798	700560	683041	726158	714480	762600	37 %

II.2 — Growth in imports for the 2 product categories (in tonnes)

Product Number	Product category	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	MRP	Growth MRP compared to 2013
11	Grain-Oriented Electrical Sheet	114388	112258	101737	109518	99917	106570	– 7 %
23	Bearing Tubes and Pipes	7475	8998	8337	7035	6137	6265	– 16 %

ANNEX IIIIII.1 — List of developing countries, members of the WTOAfghanistan, Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Macao, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.III.2 —List of product categories originating in developing countries to which the definitive measures apply

List of product categories originating in developing countries to which the definitive measures apply from 1 July 2024
Country / Product group	1	2	3A	3B	4A	4B	5	6	7	8	9	10	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	24	25A	25B	26	27	28
Albania							X																	X					X
Brazil							X																	X
China				X		X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X			X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Egypt	X						X							X			X							X
India	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X					X		X	X	X		X	X
Indonesia							X		X	X							X							X
Malaysia							X										X							X
Moldova							X							X			X							X
North Macedonia							X		X				X								X	X		X
Oman							X																	X
South Africa							X			X	X	X												X
Tunisia					X		X																	X
Türkiye	X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X	X			X	X		X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X
Ukraine	X	X					X							X			X					X	X	X				X	X
United Arab Emirates							X											X	X		X			X	X
Vietnam	X	X		X	X	X	X				X													X
All other developing countries							X																	X

ANNEX IVIV.1 –Volumes of tariff–rate quotas

From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8601From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8602From 1.7 to 30.6: For Egypt: 09.8450, for Vietnam: 09.8451, for Japan: 09.8452, for Taiwan: 09.8453, for Australia: 09.8454, for Switzerland: 09.8455, for United States: 09.8456, for Libya: 09.8457 and for Canada: 09.8458From 1.4 to 30.6: For Türkiye*: 09.8572, for India*: 09.8573, for Korea, Republic of*: 09.8574, for Serbia*: 09.8575 and for United Kingdom*: 09.8599 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8603From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8604From 1.4 to 30.6: For India*, Korea, Republic of*, United Kingdom* and Serbia*: 09.8567 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8605From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8606From 1.4 to 30.6: For Korea, Republic of*, United Kingdom* and Iran, Islamic Republic of*: 09.8568 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8607From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8608From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8609From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8610From 1.4 to 30.6: For Korea, Republic of*, United Kingdom* and India*: 09.8570 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8611From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8612From 1.4 to 30.6: For China*: 09.8581, for Korea, Republic of*: 09.8582, for India*: 09.8583 and for United Kingdom*: 09.8584 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8613From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8614From 1.4 to 30.6: For Korea, Republic of*, United Kingdom*, Taiwan* and Türkiye*: 09.8560 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8615From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8616From 1.4 to 30.6: For China*, Korea, Republic of*, United Kingdom*, Taiwan* and Serbia*: 09.8576 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8617From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8618From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8619From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8620From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8621From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8622From 1.4 to 30.6: For Korea, Republic of*, Taiwan*, India*, South Africa*, United States*and Türkiye* 09.8510 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8623From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8624From 1.4 to 30.6: For China*, United Kingdom*, India*, South Africa* and Taiwan*: 09.8591 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8625From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8626From 1.4 to 30.6: For China*, United Kingdom*, Türkiye* and Switzerland*: 09.8592 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8627From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8628From 1.4 to 30.6: For Türkiye*, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Moldova, Republic of*: 09.8593 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8629From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8630From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8631From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8632From 1.4 to 30.6: For India*, Taiwan*, United Kingdom*, Korea, Republic of*and Japan*: 09.8595 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8633From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8634From 1.7 to 30.6: For Malaysia: 09.8460, for Algeria: 09.8461, for Egypt: 09.8462, for Bosnia and Herzegovina: 09.8463, for Korea, Republic of: 09.8464, for Japan: 09.8466, for Indonesia: 09.8465 and for Serbia: 09.8467From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8635From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8636From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8637From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8638From 1.4 to 30.6: For United Kingdom*, China* and United Arab Emirates*: 09.8580 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8639From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8640From 1.4 to 30.6: For United Kingdom*, China* and Türkiye*: 09.8585 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8641From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8642From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8643From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8644From 1.4 to 30.6: For United Kingdom*, North Macedonia*, Switzerland* and Türkiye*: 09.8530 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8645From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8646From 1.4 to 30.6: For India*, United Kingdom*, Korea, Republic of*, Japan* and China*: 09.8597 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8647From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8648From 1.4 to 30.6: For China*, United Kingdom* and United States*: 09.8586 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8657From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8658From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8659From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8660From 1.4 to 30.6: For United Kingdom*, China*, Korea, Republic of* and Türkiye*: 09.8587 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8651From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8652From 1.4 to 30.6: For Switzerland*, Türkiye*, United Kingdom*, Taiwan* and China*: 09.8588 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8653From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8654From 1.4 to 30.6: For Switzerland*, United Kingdom* and China *: 09.8539 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8655From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8656From 1.4 to 30.6: For Türkiye* and China *: 09.8598 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5

Product Number	Product category	CN Codes	Allocation by country (Where Applicable)	Year 7				Year 8				Additional duty rate	Order numbers
				From 1.7.2024 to 30.9.2024	From 1.10.2024 to 31.12.2024	From 1.1.2025 to 31.3.2025	From 1.4.2025 to 30.6.2025	From 1.7.2025 to 30.9.2025	From 1.10.2025 to 31.12.2025	From 1.1.2026 to 31.3.2026	From 1.4.2026 to 30.6.2026
				Volume of tariff quota (net tonnes)				Volume of tariff quota (net tonnes)
1	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Hot Rolled Sheets and Strips	72081000, 72082500, 72082600, 72082700, 72083600, 72083700, 72083800, 72083900, 72084000, 72085210, 72085299, 72085310, 72085390, 72085400,72111300, 72111400, 72111900, 72126000, 72251910, 72253010, 72253030, 72253090, 72254015, 72254090, 72261910, 72269120, 72269191, 72269199	Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8966
			Türkiye	475173,52	475173,52	464843,66	470008,59	479925,26	479925,26	469492,10	474708,68	25%	09.8967
			India	301703,57	301703,57	295144,80	298424,18	304720,61	304720,61	298096,25	301408,43	25%	09.8968
			Korea, Republic of	188405,48	188405,48	184309,71	186357,59	190289,53	190289,53	186152,80	188221,17	25%	09.8969
			United Kingdom	157607,78	157607,78	154181,53	155894,66	159183,86	159183,86	155723,34	157453,60	25%	09.8976
			Serbia	167256,84	167256,84	163620,82	165438,83	168929,40	168929,40	165257,03	167093,21	25%	09.8970
			Other countries	945664,87	945664,87	925106,94	935385,91	955121,52	955121,52	934358,01	944739,77	25%
2	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Cold Rolled Sheets	72091500, 72091690, 72091790, 72091891, 72092500, 72092690, 72092790, 72092890, 72099020, 72099080, 72112320, 72112330, 72112380, 72112900, 72119020, 72119080, 72255020, 72255080, 72262000, 72269200	India	164886,33	164886,33	161301,85	163094,09	166535,19	166535,19	162914,86	164725,03	25%	09.8801
			Korea, Republic of	95630,77	95630,77	93551,84	94591,31	96587,08	96587,08	94487,36	95537,22	25%	09.8802
			United Kingdom	88383,80	88383,80	86462,41	87423,10	89267,64	89267,64	87327,04	88297,34	25%	09.8977
			Ukraine	73421,18	73421,18	71825,07	72623,12	74155,39	74155,39	72543,32	73349,35	25%	09.8803
			Serbia	41629,15	41629,15	40724,17	41176,66	42045,44	42045,44	41131,41	41588,43	25%	09.8805
			Other countries	338044,38	338044,38	330695,59	334369,98	341424,82	341424,82	334002,54	337713,68	25%
3.A	Electrical Sheets (other than GOES)	72091610, 72091710, 72091810, 72092610, 72092710, 72092810	Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8808
			United Kingdom	559,43	559,43	547,27	553,35	565,03	565,03	552,74	558,89	25%	09.8978
			Iran, Islamic Republic of	167,77	167,77	164,12	165,95	169,45	169,45	165,76	167,61	25%	09.8809
			Korea, Republic of	256,93	256,93	251,35	254,14	259,50	259,50	253,86	256,68	25%	09.8806
			Other countries	858,86	858,86	840,19	849,52	867,45	867,45	848,59	858,02	25%
3.B		72251990, 72261980	Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8811
			Korea, Republic of	35566,76	35566,76	34793,57	35180,17	35922,43	35922,43	35141,51	35531,97	25%	09.8812
			China	31278,07	31278,07	30598,11	30938,09	31590,85	31590,85	30904,09	31247,47	25%	09.8813
			Taiwan	24462,63	24462,63	23930,83	24196,73	24707,26	24707,26	24170,14	24438,70	25%	09.8814
			Other countries	8722,51	8722,51	8532,89	8627,70	8809,74	8809,74	8618,22	8713,98	25%
4.A	Metallic Coated Sheets	CN Code :72125020TARIC Codes: 7210410020, 7210410030, 7210490020, 7210490030, 7210610020, 7210610030, 7210690020, 7210690030, 7212300020, 7212300030, 7212506120, 7212506130, 7212506920, 7212506930, 7225920020, 7225920030, 7225990011, 7225990022, 7225990023, 7225990041, 7225990045, 7225990091, 7225990092, 7225990093, 7226993010, 7226993030, 7226997011, 7226997013, 7226997091, 7226997093, 7226997094	Korea, Republic of	37935,59	37935,59	37110,90	37523,24	38314,94	38314,94	37482,01	37898,47	25%	09.8816
			India	54225,74	54225,74	53046,92	53636,33	54768,00	54768,00	53577,39	54172,70	25%	09.8817
			United Kingdom	35743,38	35743,38	34966,35	35354,86	36100,81	36100,81	35316,01	35708,41	25%	09.8979
			Other countries	477237,17	477237,17	466862,45	472049,81	482009,54	482009,54	471531,07	476770,30	25%
4.B		CN Codes: 72102000, 72103000,72109080, 72122000,72125030, 72125040,72125090, 72259100,72269910 TARIC codes: 7210410080, 7210490080, 7210610080, 7210690080, 7212300080, 7212506180, 7212506980, 7225920080, 7225990025, 7225990095, 7226993090, 7226997019, 7226997096	China	129629,13	129629,13	126811,10	128220,12	130925,42	130925,42	128079,21	129502,32	25%	09.8821
			Korea, Republic of	168236,08	168236,08	164578,78	166407,43	169918,44	169918,44	166224,56	168071,50	25%	09.8822
			India	77423,90	77423,90	75740,77	76582,33	78198,14	78198,14	76498,18	77348,16	25%	09.8823
			United Kingdom	35743,38	35743,38	34966,35	35354,86	36100,81	36100,81	35316,01	35708,41	25%	09.8980
			Other countries	105930,82	105930,82	103627,98	104779,40	106990,13	106990,13	104664,26	105827,20	25%
5	Organic Coated Sheets	72107080, 72124080	India	79455,26	79455,26	77727,97	78591,62	80249,82	80249,82	78505,25	79377,53	25%	09.8826
			Korea, Republic of	71808,92	71808,92	70247,86	71028,39	72527,01	72527,01	70950,33	71738,67	25%	09.8827
			United Kingdom	35255,57	35255,57	34489,14	34872,35	35608,12	35608,12	34834,03	35221,08	25%	09.8981
			Taiwan	23014,43	23014,43	22514,12	22764,27	23244,57	23244,57	22739,26	22991,92	25%	09.8828
			Türkiye	15889,17	15889,17	15543,76	15716,47	16048,07	16048,07	15699,19	15873,63	25%	09.8829
			Other countries	43331,67	43331,67	42389,68	42860,67	43764,99	43764,99	42813,57	43289,28	25%
6	Tin Mill products	72091899, 72101100, 72101220, 72101280, 72105000, 72107010, 72109040, 72121010, 72121090, 72124020	China	112138,60	112138,60	109700,80	110919,70	113259,98	113259,98	110797,81	112028,90	25%	09.8831
			United Kingdom	40902,97	40902,97	40013,77	40458,37	41312,00	41312,00	40413,91	40862,95	25%	09.8982
			Serbia	22509,42	22509,42	22020,09	22264,76	22734,52	22734,52	22240,29	22487,40	25%	09.8832
			Korea, Republic of	16282,30	16282,30	15928,34	16105,32	16445,12	16445,12	16087,62	16266,37	25%	09.8833
			Taiwan	13537,54	13537,54	13243,25	13390,40	13672,92	13672,92	13375,68	13524,30	25%	09.8834
			Other countries	37515,08	37515,08	36699,54	37107,31	37890,24	37890,24	37066,54	37478,39	25%
7	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Quarto Plates	72085120, 72085191, 72085198, 72085291, 72089020, 72089080, 72109030, 72254012, 72254040, 72254060, 72259900	Ukraine	283626,45	283626,45	277460,66	280543,56	286462,72	286462,72	280235,27	283348,99	25%	09.8836
			Other countries	582521,66	582521,66	569858,15	576189,90	588346,88	588346,88	575556,73	581951,80	25%
			United Kingdom (to Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom	5298,37	5298,37	5183,19	5240,78	5351,36	5351,36	5235,02	5293,19	25%	09.8498
8	Stainless Hot Rolled Sheets and Strips	72191100, 72191210, 72191290, 72191310, 72191390, 72191410, 72191490, 72192210, 72192290, 72192300, 72192400, 72201100, 72201200	Other countries	110902,59	110902,59	108491,66	109697,12	112011,61	112011,61	109576,58	110794,09	25%
			United Kingdom (to Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom	13,44	13,41	13,15	13,30	13,58	13,58	13,28	13,43	25%	09.8491
9	Stainless Cold Rolled Sheets and Strips	72193100, 72193210, 72193290, 72193310, 72193390, 72193410, 72193490, 72193510, 72193590, 72199020, 72199080, 72202021, 72202029, 72202041, 72202049, 72202081, 72202089, 72209020, 72209080	Korea, Republic of	50181,76	50181,76	49090,85	49636,30	50683,58	50683,58	49581,76	50132,67	25%	09.8846
			Taiwan	46535,23	46535,23	45523,59	46029,41	47000,58	47000,58	45978,83	46489,70	25%	09.8847
			India	31102,58	31102,58	30426,44	30764,51	31413,61	31413,61	30730,71	31072,16	25%	09.8848
			South Africa	27064,27	27064,27	26475,92	26770,10	27334,92	27334,92	26740,68	27037,80	25%	09.8853
			United States	25305,11	25305,11	24755,00	25030,05	25558,16	25558,16	25002,55	25280,35	25%	09.8849
			Türkiye	21057,01	21057,01	20599,25	20828,13	21267,58	21267,58	20805,24	21036,41	25%	09.8850
			Other countries	66853,01	66853,01	65399,69	66126,35	67521,54	67521,54	66053,68	66787,61	25%
			United Kingdom (to Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom	31,50	31,50	30,81	31,15	31,81	31,81	31,12	31,46	25%	09.8492
10	Stainless Hot Rolled Quarto Plates	72192110, 72192190	China	4969,75	4969,75	4861,71	4915,73	5019,45	5019,45	4910,33	4964,89	25%	09.8856
			India	2108,21	2108,21	2062,38	2085,29	2129,29	2129,29	2083,00	2106,15	25%	09.8857
			South Africa	1443,59	1443,59	1412,20	1427,89	1458,02	1458,02	1426,33	1442,17	25%	09.8859
			United Kingdom	869,69	869,69	850,78	860,24	878,39	878,39	859,29	868,84	25%	09.8984
			Taiwan	802,93	802,93	785,48	794,21	810,96	810,96	793,33	802,15	25%	09.8858
			Other countries	1053,49	1053,49	1030,59	1042,04	1064,03	1064,03	1040,90	1052,46	25%
12	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Merchant Bars and Light Sections	72143000, 72149110, 72149190, 72149931, 72149939, 72149950, 72149971, 72149979, 72149995, 72159000, 72161000, 72162100, 72162200, 72164010, 72164090, 72165010, 72165091, 72165099, 72169900, 72281020, 72282010, 72282091, 72283020, 72283041, 72283049, 72283061, 72283069, 72283070, 72283089, 72286020, 72286080, 72287010, 72287090, 72288000	China	141807,58	141807,58	138724,81	140266,19	143225,65	143225,65	140112,05	141668,85	25%	09.8861
			United Kingdom	118470,22	118470,22	115894,78	117182,50	119654,93	119654,93	117053,73	118354,33	25%	09.8985
			Türkiye	107140,30	107140,30	104811,16	105975,73	108211,70	108211,70	105859,27	107035,48	25%	09.8862
			Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8863
			Switzerland	68859,03	68859,03	67362,09	68110,56	69547,62	69547,62	68035,71	68791,66	25%	09.8864
			Belarus	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8865
			Other countries	61358,22	61358,22	60024,34	60691,28	61971,80	61971,80	60624,59	61298,19	25%
13	Rebars	72142000, 72149910	Türkiye	95436,11	95436,11	93361,42	94398,76	96390,47	96390,47	94295,03	95342,75	25%	09.8866
			Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8867
			Ukraine	44430,34	44430,34	43464,46	43947,40	44874,64	44874,64	43899,11	44386,88	25%	09.8868
			Bosnia and Herzegovina	34333,24	34333,24	33586,87	33960,06	34676,58	34676,58	33922,74	34299,66	25%	09.8869
			Moldova, Republic of	28694,83	28694,83	28071,03	28382,93	28981,78	28981,78	28351,74	28666,76	25%	09.8870
			Other countries	139355,41	139355,41	136325,95	137840,68	140748,97	140748,97	137689,21	139219,09	25%
			United Kingdom (to Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom	2178,07	2178,07	2130,72	2154,40	2199,85	2199,85	2152,03	2175,94	25%	09.8493
14	Stainless Bars and Light Sections	72221111, 72221119, 72221181, 72221189, 72221910, 72221990, 72222011, 72222019, 72222021, 72222029, 72222031, 72222039, 72222081, 72222089, 72223051, 72223091, 72223097, 72224010, 72224050, 72224090	India	32082,28	32082,28	31384,84	31733,56	32403,10	32403,10	31698,69	32050,89	25%	09.8871
			United Kingdom	4688,43	4688,43	4586,51	4637,47	4735,32	4735,32	4632,37	4683,85	25%	09.8986
			Switzerland	4614,90	4614,90	4514,57	4564,73	4661,04	4661,04	4559,72	4610,38	25%	09.8872
			Ukraine	3564,33	3564,33	3486,84	3525,59	3599,97	3599,97	3521,71	3560,84	25%	09.8873
			Other countries	5206,31	5206,31	5093,13	5149,72	5258,38	5258,38	5144,06	5201,22	25%
15	Stainless Wire Rod	72210010, 72210090	India	7461,77	7461,77	7299,56	7380,66	7536,39	7536,39	7372,55	7454,47	25%	09.8876
			Taiwan	4811,05	4811,05	4706,47	4758,76	4859,16	4859,16	4753,53	4806,35	25%	09.8877
			United Kingdom	3865,14	3865,14	3781,12	3823,13	3903,79	3903,79	3818,93	3861,36	25%	09.8987
			Korea, Republic of	2401,99	2401,99	2349,77	2375,88	2426,01	2426,01	2373,27	2399,64	25%	09.8878
			Japan	1614,45	1614,45	1579,35	1596,90	1630,59	1630,59	1595,15	1612,87	25%	09.8880
			Other countries	2439,66	2439,66	2386,63	2413,14	2464,06	2464,06	2410,49	2437,28	25%
16	Non Alloy and Other Alloy Wire Rod	72131000, 72132000, 72139110, 72139120, 72139141, 72139149, 72139170, 72139190, 72139910, 72139990, 72271000, 72272000, 72279010, 72279050, 72279095	United Kingdom	185274,13	185274,13	181246,43	183260,28	187126,87	187126,87	183058,90	185092,89	25%	09.8988
			Ukraine	124576,81	124576,81	121868,62	123222,72	125822,58	125822,58	123087,31	124454,95	25%	09.8881
			Switzerland	136944,28	136944,28	133967,23	135455,75	138313,72	138313,72	135306,90	136810,31	25%	09.8882
			Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8883
			Türkiye	119010,72	119010,72	116423,53	117717,13	120200,83	120200,83	117587,77	118894,30	25%	09.8884
			Belarus	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8885
			Moldova, Republic of	69937,46	69937,46	68417,08	69177,27	70636,83	70636,83	69101,25	69869,04	25%	09.8886
			Other countries	122754,97	122754,97	120086,38	121420,67	123982,52	123982,52	121287,25	122634,88	25%
17	Angles, Shapes and Sections of Iron or Non Alloy Steel	72163110, 72163190, 72163211, 72163219, 72163291, 72163299, 72163310, 72163390	Ukraine	31630,96	31630,96	30943,33	31287,14	31947,27	31947,27	31252,76	31600,01	25%	09.8891
			Other countries	68221,22	68221,22	66738,15	67479,69	68903,44	68903,44	67405,53	68154,48	25%
			United Kingdom (to Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom	14240,75	14240,75	13931,17	14085,96	14383,16	14383,16	14070,48	14226,82	25%	09.8499
18	Sheet Piling	73011000	China	7075,96	7075,96	6922,14	6999,05	7146,72	7146,72	6991,36	7069,04	25%	09.8901
			United Arab Emirates	3501,93	3501,93	3425,80	3463,87	3536,95	3536,95	3460,06	3498,51	25%	09.8902
			United Kingdom	908,13	908,13	888,38	898,26	917,21	917,21	897,27	907,24	25%	09.8990
			Other countries	340,08	340,08	332,69	336,38	343,48	343,48	336,01	339,75	25%
19	Railway Material	73021022, 73021028, 73021040, 73021050, 73024000	United Kingdom	5164,71	5164,71	5052,44	5108,58	5216,36	5216,36	5102,96	5159,66	25%	09.8991
			Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8906
			Türkiye	1573,65	1573,65	1539,44	1556,54	1589,39	1589,39	1554,83	1572,11	25%	09.8908
			China	1522,23	1522,23	1489,14	1505,68	1537,45	1537,45	1504,03	1520,74	25%	09.8907
			Other countries	797,70	797,70	780,36	789,03	805,67	805,67	788,16	796,92	25%
20	Gas pipes	73063041, 73063049, 73063072, 73063077	Türkiye	49976,08	49976,08	48889,64	49432,86	50475,84	50475,84	49378,54	49927,19	25%	09.8911
			India	19232,37	19232,37	18814,27	19023,32	19424,69	19424,69	19002,41	19213,55	25%	09.8912
			North Macedonia	7103,37	7103,37	6948,95	7026,16	7174,41	7174,41	7018,44	7096,42	25%	09.8913
			United Kingdom	6757,17	6757,17	6610,28	6683,72	6824,74	6824,74	6676,38	6750,56	25%	09.8992
			Other countries	11229,42	11229,42	10985,31	11107,36	11341,72	11341,72	11095,16	11218,44	25%
21	Hollow sections	73066110, 73066192, 73066199	Türkiye	99461,66	99461,66	97299,45	98380,56	100456,28	100456,28	98272,45	99364,36	25%	09.8916
			United Kingdom	53047,35	53047,35	51894,15	52470,75	53577,82	53577,82	52413,09	52995,46	25%	09.8993
			Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8917
			North Macedonia	29364,68	29364,68	28726,32	29045,50	29658,33	29658,33	29013,58	29335,96	25%	09.8918
			Ukraine	21718,42	21718,42	21246,28	21482,35	21935,60	21935,60	21458,74	21697,17	25%	09.8919
			Switzerland	16232,19	16232,19	15879,32	16055,75	16394,51	16394,51	16038,11	16216,31	25%	09.8920
			Belarus	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8921
			Other countries	20873,17	20873,17	20419,41	20646,29	21081,91	21081,91	20623,60	20852,76	25%
22	Seamless Stainless Tubes and Pipes	73041100, 73042200, 73042400, 73044100, 73044983, 73044985, 73044989	India	5945,04	5945,04	5815,80	5880,42	6004,50	6004,50	5873,96	5939,23	25%	09.8926
			Ukraine	3722,57	3722,57	3641,64	3682,10	3759,79	3759,79	3678,06	3718,92	25%	09.8927
			United Kingdom	1889,57	1889,57	1848,49	1869,03	1908,46	1908,46	1866,98	1887,72	25%	09.8994
			Korea, Republic of	1170,22	1170,22	1144,78	1157,50	1181,92	1181,92	1156,23	1169,07	25%	09.8928
			Japan	1088,25	1088,25	1064,59	1076,42	1099,13	1099,13	1075,23	1087,18	25%	09.8929
			China	933,70	933,70	913,40	923,55	943,03	943,03	922,53	932,78	25%	09.8931
			Other countries	2716,63	2716,63	2657,57	2687,10	2743,79	2743,79	2684,14	2713,97	25%
24	Other Seamless Tubes	73041910, 73041930, 73041990, 73042300, 73042910, 73042930, 73042990, 73043120, 73043180, 73045181, 73045189, 73049000, 73043950, 73043982, 73043983, 73043988, 73045982, 73045983, 73045989	China	38808,17	38808,17	37964,52	38386,35	39196,26	39196,26	38344,16	38770,21	25%	09.8936
			Ukraine	32437,15	32437,15	31732,00	32084,58	32761,53	32761,53	32049,32	32405,42	25%	09.8937
			Belarus	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8938
			United Kingdom	11835,98	11835,98	11578,68	11707,33	11954,34	11954,34	11694,46	11824,40	25%	09.8995
			United States	8519,43	8519,43	8334,22	8426,83	8604,62	8604,62	8417,57	8511,09	25%	09.8940
			Other countries	45946,99	45946,99	44948,14	45447,56	46406,46	46406,46	45397,62	45902,04	25%
25.A	Large welded tubes	73051100, 73051200	Other countries	121581,27	121581,27	118938,20	120259,74	122797,09	122797,09	120127,58	121462,33	25%
			United Kingdom (to Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom	14,03	14,03	13,72	13,87	14,17	14,17	13,86	14,01	25%	09.8494
25.B	Large welded tubes	73051900, 73052000, 73053100, 73053900, 73059000	Türkiye	15095,79	15095,79	14767,62	14931,71	15246,75	15246,75	14915,30	15081,03	25%	09.8971
			China	8544,60	8544,60	8358,85	8451,72	8630,05	8630,05	8442,44	8536,24	25%	09.8972
			Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8973
			United Kingdom	6201,36	6201,36	6066,55	6133,95	6263,37	6263,37	6127,21	6195,29	25%	09.8996
			Korea, Republic of	2921,35	2921,35	2857,84	2889,59	2950,56	2950,56	2886,42	2918,49	25%	09.8974
			Other countries	6566,11	6566,11	6423,36	6494,73	6631,77	6631,77	6487,60	6559,68	25%
26	Other Welded Pipes	73062100, 73062900, 73063080, 73064020, 73064080, 73065080, 73066910, 73066990, 73069000, 73061100, 73061900, 73063012, 73063018, 73065021, 73065029	Switzerland	48607,62	48607,62	47550,94	48079,28	49093,70	49093,70	48026,45	48560,07	25%	09.8946
			Türkiye	38497,24	38497,24	37660,35	38078,79	38882,22	38882,22	38036,95	38459,58	25%	09.8947
			United Kingdom	11756,08	11756,08	11500,51	11628,30	11873,64	11873,64	11615,52	11744,58	25%	09.8997
			Taiwan	9108,71	9108,71	8910,69	9009,70	9199,79	9199,79	8999,80	9099,80	25%	09.8950
			China	8161,56	8161,56	7984,13	8072,85	8243,18	8243,18	8063,98	8153,58	25%	09.8949
			Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8952
			Other countries	20271,58	20271,58	19830,89	20051,24	20474,29	20474,29	20029,20	20251,75	25%
27	Non-alloy and other alloy cold finished bars	72151000, 72155011, 72155019, 72155080, 72281090, 72282099, 72285020, 72285040, 72285061, 72285069, 72285080	Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8956
			Switzerland	42629,58	42629,58	41702,85	42166,22	43055,88	43055,88	42119,88	42587,88	25%	09.8957
			United Kingdom	25717,28	25717,28	25158,21	25437,75	25974,45	25974,45	25409,79	25692,12	25%	09.8998
			China	27205,69	27205,69	26614,26	26909,98	27477,75	27477,75	26880,41	27179,08	25%	09.8958
			Ukraine	30705,61	30705,61	30038,10	30371,86	31012,67	31012,67	30338,48	30675,57	25%	09.8959
			Other countries	31896,89	31896,89	31203,48	31550,19	32215,86	32215,86	31515,52	31865,69	25%
28	Non Alloy Wire	72171010, 72171031, 72171039, 72171050, 72171090, 72172010, 72172030, 72172050, 72172090, 72173041, 72173049, 72173050, 72173090, 72179020, 72179050, 72179090	Belarus	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8961
			China	79826,78	79826,78	78091,41	78959,10	80625,05	80625,05	78872,33	79748,69	25%	09.8962
			Russian Federation	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	not applicable	25%	09.8963
			Türkiye	51945,98	51945,98	50816,72	51381,35	52465,44	52465,44	51324,89	51895,16	25%	09.8964
			Ukraine	39174,24	39174,24	38322,63	38748,44	39565,99	39565,99	38705,86	39135,92	25%	09.8965
			Other countries	49942,21	49942,21	48856,51	49399,36	50441,63	50441,63	49345,07	49893,35	25%
			United Kingdom (to Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom	191,95	191,95	187,78	189,86	193,87	193,87	189,65	191,76	25%	09.8495

IV.2 –Volumes of global and residual tariff–rate quotas per trimester

Product Number	Allocation by country (Where Applicable)	Year 7				Year 8
		From 1.7.2024 to 30.9.2024	From 1.10.2024 to 31.12.2024	From 1.1.2025 to 31.3.2025	From 1.4.2025 to 30.6.2025	From 1.7.2025 to 30.9.2025	From 1.10.2025 to 31.12.2025	From 1.1.2026 to 31.3.2026	From 1.4.2026 to 30.6.2026
		Volume of tariff quota (net tonnes)				Volume of tariff quota (net tonnes)
1	Other countries	945664,87	945664,87	925106,94	935385,91	955121,52	955121,52	934358,01	944739,77
2	Other countries	338044,38	338044,38	330695,59	334369,98	341424,82	341424,82	334002,54	337713,68
3.A	Other countries	858,86	858,86	840,19	849,52	867,45	867,45	848,59	858,02
3.B	Other countries	8722,51	8722,51	8532,89	8627,70	8809,74	8809,74	8618,22	8713,98
4.A	Other countries	477237,17	477237,17	466862,45	472049,81	482009,54	482009,54	471531,07	476770,30
4.B	Other countries	105930,82	105930,82	103627,98	104779,40	106990,13	106990,13	104664,26	105827,20
5	Other countries	43331,67	43331,67	42389,68	42860,67	43764,99	43764,99	42813,57	43289,28
6	Other countries	37515,08	37515,08	36699,54	37107,31	37890,24	37890,24	37066,54	37478,39
7	Other countries	582521,66	582521,66	569858,15	576189,90	588346,88	588346,88	575556,73	581951,80
8	Other countries	110902,59	110902,59	108491,66	109697,12	112011,61	112011,61	109576,58	110794,09
9	Other countries	66853,01	66853,01	65399,69	66126,35	67521,54	67521,54	66053,68	66787,61
10	Other countries	1053,49	1053,49	1030,59	1042,04	1064,03	1064,03	1040,90	1052,46
12	Other countries	61358,22	61358,22	60024,34	60691,28	61971,80	61971,80	60624,59	61298,19
13	Other countries	139355,41	139355,41	136325,95	137840,68	140748,97	140748,97	137689,21	139219,09
14	Other countries	5206,31	5206,31	5093,13	5149,72	5258,38	5258,38	5144,06	5201,22
15	Other countries	2439,66	2439,66	2386,63	2413,14	2464,06	2464,06	2410,49	2437,28
16	Other countries	122754,97	122754,97	120086,38	121420,67	123982,52	123982,52	121287,25	122634,88
17	Other countries	68221,22	68221,22	66738,15	67479,69	68903,44	68903,44	67405,53	68154,48
18	Other countries	340,08	340,08	332,69	336,38	343,48	343,48	336,01	339,75
19	Other countries	797,70	797,70	780,36	789,03	805,67	805,67	788,16	796,92
20	Other countries	11229,42	11229,42	10985,31	11107,36	11341,72	11341,72	11095,16	11218,44
21	Other countries	20873,17	20873,17	20419,41	20646,29	21081,91	21081,91	20623,60	20852,76
22	Other countries	2716,63	2716,63	2657,57	2687,10	2743,79	2743,79	2684,14	2713,97
24	Other countries	45946,99	45946,99	44948,14	45447,56	46406,46	46406,46	45397,62	45902,04
25.A	Other countries	121581,27	121581,27	118938,20	120259,74	122797,09	122797,09	120127,58	121462,33
25.B	Other countries	6566,11	6566,11	6423,36	6494,73	6631,77	6631,77	6487,60	6559,68
26	Other countries	20271,58	20271,58	19830,89	20051,24	20474,29	20474,29	20029,20	20251,75
27	Other countries	31896,89	31896,89	31203,48	31550,19	32215,86	32215,86	31515,52	31865,69
28	Other countries	49942,21	49942,21	48856,51	49399,36	50441,63	50441,63	49345,07	49893,35

IV.3 –Maximum volume of residual quota accessible in the last quarter to countries with a country specific quota

Product category	New alocated quota in tonnes
	From 1.4.2025 to 30.6.2025	From 1.4.2026 to 30.6.2026
1	Special regime	Special regime
2	158616,97	160203,14
3.A	821,13	829,34
3.B	No access to the residual quota in Q4	No access to the residual quota in Q4
4.A	94249,03	95191,52
4.B	Special regime	Special regime
5	7675,20	7751,95
6	8326,69	8409,96
7	Not applicable	Not applicable
8	Not applicable	Not applicable
9	47390,04	47863,95
10	541,85	547,27
12	37204,21	37576,25
13	45515,47	45970,62
14	No access to the residual quota in Q4	No access to the residual quota in Q4
15	2185,29	2207,14
16	No access to the residual quota in Q4	No access to the residual quota in Q4
17	Not applicable	Not applicable
18	207,40	209,47
19	480,41	485,22
20	No access to the residual quota in Q4	No access to the residual quota in Q4
21	4053,74	4094,28
22	2601,14	2627,16
24	24365,76	24609,41
25.A	Not applicable	Not applicable
25.B	2698,83	2725,82
26	No access to the residual quota in Q4	No access to the residual quota in Q4
27	25516,97	25772,14
28	36703,68	37070,72

ANNEX VAttractiveness of Union market(1)In its original determination, the Commission explained that the Union steel market was attractive for imports in terms of size and pricesSee recital (35) of the Provisional Regulation, and Section 4 of the Definitive Regulation.. In this respect, according to OECD dataSee OECD, "Recent Developments in Steel Trade and Trade Policy Measures", DSTI/SC(2018)3, p. 9, table 3., in the years prior to the initiation of the investigation that led to the imposition of a safeguard measure, the Union market was the largest importing territory in terms of volumes, accounting from 13,8 % to 18,4 % of the global share of imports throughout this period.(2)In addition to the volumes, the Union market was also very attractive in terms of prices. In fact, an analysis of the relevant dataSource: DG TRADE calculations on Global Trade Atlas data (https://ihsmarkit.com/index.html)– raw data available upon subscription – period analysed: 2014-2017. For details see Note to the file dated 30 November 2022, table 1. showed that the main steel exporting countries to the Union achieved, for a large proportion of their exports (from 46 % to 78 % of the CN codes concerned), a higher price in the Union market as compared to the export prices achieved in other third markets for the same CN codes. For these countries, the Union market also represented an important share of their exports, being the main or among their main export destinations, in some cases reaching more than 25 % share and even reaching 32 % in a given yearIbid.(3)The attractiveness of the Union market was also confirmed by the fact that while the main steel exporting countriesThese countries were: China, India, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Türkiye and Ukraine, and represented around 75 % of total imports into the Union in 2018. were reducing exports to third countries, they were increasing their exports to the Union at a fast pace. In particular, exports to other third countries from these origins decreased by more than 11 million tonnes (-8 %) in 2018Data for full year 2018 extrapolated based on the data available for the period January-November 2018. when compared to 2017Source: Global Trade Atlas (https://ihsmarkit.com/index.html) – available upon subscription.. On the other hand, in the same period, imports into the Union from these origins increased by more than 3 million tonnes (+14 %)See recital (32) of the Provisional Regulation.. These opposite trends showed that while imports to other third countries decreased generally, in a context of increasing overcapacity and increased restriction to access markets worldwide (see Sections 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 below), and in the absence of any major positive developments in their domestic consumption, exporting producers seized the opportunity to dispose of ever larger volumes into the Union market.(4)Therefore, the above set of data shows that, unequivocally, the Union market was attractive for exporting producers in terms of both volumes and prices.1.ANALYSIS1.1.Increased imports as a result of unforeseen developments(5)The subsections below thus provide with additional information and a more detailed explanation linking each of the unforeseen developments identified with the increase in imports that took place, thereby supplementing the original findings.1.1.1.Increase of imports to the Union due to global overcapacity in the steel sector(6)In the original determination, the Commission established that overcapacity existed in the steel sector and that despite efforts aiming to reduce it; it had nevertheless increased over the period of investigationSee recitals (31) and (32) of the Provisional Regulation, and recitals (51) to (54) of the Definitive Regulation..(7)Several sources have consistently confirmed the direct link between excess capacity in the steel sector and its effects on exports. For instance, the OECD noted, "Excessive levels of steelmaking capacity have important implications for the steel industry, often associated with over-supply, low prices, and weak profitability"See OECD "Excess Capacity in the Global Steel Industry: The Current Situation and Ways Forward", 2015, p. 3.. It also noted that "At the global level, the effects of excess capacity are transmitted through trade; excess capacity can lead to export surges, leading to price declines and market share losses for import-competing domestic producers"See OECD "Evaluating the Financial Health of the Steel Industry", DSTI/SU/SC(2015)12/FINAL, 9 June 2017, p. 25..(8)Similarly, other studies point into the same direction. A 2014 "Economic Policy Institute" paperAvailable at: https://www.epi.org/publication/surging-steel-imports, which noted, “Excess capacity means that steel production facilities have the capacity to produce much more steel than the market demands. High fixed costs, capital intensity, and the large scale of steelmaking encourages to export the surplus at below-market rates. […] "Excess capacity leads to overproduction and surges of exports" and that "[t]he high capital intensity of the industry leads producers to maximize production to cover fixed costs, and this in turn leads them to dump excess production on foreign markets—particularly the attractive U.S. market—when domestic demand lags. This has led to repeated surges in unfairly traded steel over the years."(9)In the same vein the European Commission, in a 2016 Communication, also stated, "The excess production of steel has recently led to a dramatic increase of exports, the destabilisation of global steel markets and depression of steel prices world-wide."Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank – "Steel: Preserving sustainable jobs and growth in Europe"; COM (2016) 155 final, 16.3.2016..(10)Therefore, there is a generally accepted economic rationale explaining the action of exporting producers of offloading their excess capacity into third country markets (usually at lower prices) to at least contribute to covering part of their costs.(11)The Commission then assessed in further detail the direct link between the confirmed existing (and increasing) overcapacity in the steel sector, and the increase of imports into the Union.(12)In a situation of overcapacity, and having an incentive to offload their excess capacity, exporting producers would target those markets which allow them to sell, in principle, higher volumes at, ideally, better prices (as compared to other third markets). In this respect, the Commission explained in recitals (1) to (4) that the Union was an attractive market for exporting producers both in terms of size and price levels. The import data available also showed that imports into the Union had increased rapidly and in great volumes in the period where overcapacity was also increasingSee OECD "Excess Capacity in the Global Steel Industry: The Current Situation and Ways Forward", 2015, table at p. 2. and that they did it at much faster pace than Union consumptionThroughout the investigation period imports increased by 71 % while consumption increased by 14 %., and it also showed that imports to the Union continued to increase while the trend of exports to other third countries was the opposite. In addition, data in the Provisional Regulation showed that exporting producers were consistently undercutting Union producers (in some cases significantly), showing their determination to remain benefiting from the attractive conditions of the Union marketSpecifically, undercutting was established for 17 product categories, with ranges between 1,2 % and 23 %.. The magnitude and pace of imports into the Union at consistently lower prices than those of the Union industry, in a context of a much slower consumption growth, could have hardly been reasonably explained in the first place if it were not for a context of increasing overcapacity, which was at the core of exporting producers’ behaviour.(13)Accordingly, the Commission concluded that imports into the Union increased as a result of overcapacity in the steel sector in the original period of investigation.1.1.2.Increase of trade defence measures and trade restrictive measures in third countries(14)In recitals (33) and (34) of the Provisional Regulation, the Commission explained that there had been a significant increase in the use of trade defence instruments in the steel sector in particular in the years prior to the initiation of the EU safeguard investigation. The Provisional Regulation stated that "whereas during 2011-2013 on average around 77 steel-related investigations had been initiated per year, during 2015-2016 this average increased to 117". Furthermore, third countries continued throughout 2017 to impose trade restrictive measuresSee recital (33) of the Provisional Regulation..(15)In overall terms, the Commission observed from the dataSource: WTO, Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP) - Extraction made on 28/11/2018, 10:58. it analysed that more than 300 trade defence measures on steel productsCovering those steel products under the safeguard measure and excluding the measures imposed by the European Union, and those imposed against imports from EU exporting producers. For an overview of the TDI measures imposed by the European Union on product categories subject also to the safeguard measure see Annex 1.B. of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1382 of 2 September 2019, amending certain Regulations imposing anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures on certain steel products subject to safeguard measures (OJ L 227, 3.9.2019, p. 1). had been imposed in the period 2013-2017.(16)A breakdown of these figures revealed that these measures had been imposed by a large number of countries (at least 24 jurisdictions), and among them, all the main steel importing countriesFor reference of the main steel importing countries in the period of investigation, see OECD, "Recent developments in steel trade and trade policy measures - A closer look at non-tariff trade measures", DSTI/SC(2018)3, of 26 January 2018, page 9, table 3. Available at the following link. (https://one.oecd.org/document/DSTI/SC(20183/en/pdf). These countries had imposed 157 measures in the period 2013-2017, i.e. more than 52 % of the total.(17)At the same time, the top exporting countries to the Union were, in this period, subject to a large amount of measures in numerous jurisdictions. Taking as an example the top seven exporters to the UnionThese countries were (listed alphabetically): China (10 %), India (9 %), Korea (10 %), Russia (14 %), Taiwan (5 %), Türkiye (22 %) and Ukraine (7 %). They represented, on average, around 75 % of imports of the product concerned into the Union in the period 2013-2017., the Commission observed that they were subject to around 200 measures, this is, around 66 % of the total measures in place in at least 24 different third countries.(18)Therefore, the Commission confirmed that the magnitude of the TDI measures, in terms of number of individual measures and countries affected (both imposing and subject to the measures) was very significant. The Commission further noted that data on the original file suggested that these figures could be even rather conservativeSee recital (76) of EUROFER’s submission of 16 April 2018 in the original investigation, linked to more granular information on each of the measures considered, provided in Annex A07 D.1. Source of the data: SBB Platts.. In addition, the duties imposed pursuant to those measures appeared to be sufficiently high to impact the level of imports entering those markets as compared to the period before these measures were in place. This was reflected in an overall decrease in exports from countries subject to TDI measures into third markets (see recital (19)), despite the fact that the overall market conditions had not changed significantlySee CRU data: consumption for years 2017 and 2018 was rather stable (only around 2 % increase). and thus would not, in principle, justify a reduction of volumes exported of such magnitude if it was not for the effects of the level of the measures.(19)In this respect, the Commission confirmed based on the data analysed that a common effect of the imposition of trade defence measures was the reduction (in many cases significant) of imports into the countries subject to measures in the period subsequent to their imposition. In this regard, the Commission observed that, based on an analysis of its own TDI investigations on steel productsA similar trend was observed when assessing the impact of TDI measures on products other than steel., imports decreased on average by up to 82 % when compared to the level of imports in the investigation period that lead to the imposition of measures. In those cases, the volumes of imports affected were significantAround 15 million tonnes of combined imports affected by these measures, out of which, only slightly more than 2 million tonnes continued entering the market after the measures. For details, see Note to the File, table 2.. The Commission also confirmed that TDI measures on steel had a similar effect when imposed by third countries. In a sample of 26 cases assessedSee Note to the File dated 30 November 2022, Table 3., the Commission confirmed that the reduction of imports was on average 73 %, and that the volumes affected were also relevantTo impose a TDI measure, the volumes concerned by each investigation need to be above de minimis. In addition, steel is usually traded in rather large volumes as seen in the examples from EU TDI practice and from the sampled cases of TDI measures in other third countries.. Therefore, the imposition of TDI measures by third countries reduced the volume of exports to those countries, which were, at least partially, directed to the Union market.(20)Furthermore, another set of data showing the clear connection between the increasing number of trade defence measures in third countries and the increase in imports into the Union market is the opposing trends of exports of the main steel exporting countries to the Union explained in recital (3)These countries accounted consistently for around 75 % of total imports into the Union in the period of investigation.. In view of the large amount of trade defence measures imposed by third countries and the effects they have on the volumes of imports into the countries imposing a measure (as detailed in recitals (18) and (19)), this trend confirms that their ability to export to third countries was significantly curtailed. Therefore, they sought to dispose of these additional volumes (also affected by overcapacity) into the attractive Union market, which as a result experienced a consistent increase in imports over the same period, at a pace substantially higher than the evolution of consumption.(21)The graph belowSource: For imports into the Union: Eurostat; for TDI measures: WTO, Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP). illustrates these trends.(22)The Commission also observed that the overall steel consumption did not see any major reduction in that period that would explain such a decrease in exports to third countries. Hence, the reduction of exports to other third countries could only be reasonably explained by the limiting effect of the wide array of TDI measures or other trade restrictive measures imposed by a large number of jurisdictions.(23)Accordingly, the Commission concluded that the increase in TDI and other trade restrictive measures across third countries had resulted in increased imports into the Union during the period considered.1.1.3.US Section 232 measure(24)In recitals (58) to (61) of the Definitive Regulation the Commission explained the link between the US Section 232 measures and the increase of imports into the Union. In addition, in recitals (101) to (110) of the Definitive Regulation, the Commission also assessed the evolution of imports into both the Union and US marketsFor the purpose of explaining the link of the US Section 232 and the increased imports, the Commission refers, within those recitals, only to the data until June 2018 included. The reason is that the increase in imports assessed in the Definitive Regulation covers up to that month..(25)Because the data assessed to determine an increase in imports stopped at the end of June 2018 (end of Most Recent Period or "MRP"), it covered import trends into the Union and into the US for a relatively short period after the US Section 232 came into effect. Nevertheless, as explained in recital (58) of the Definitive Regulation, the investigation leading to the US measure had already been initiated in April 2017 and the report setting the basis for the later adoption of the measure was published in January 2018, and hence the first signs of trade diversion were already identified.(26)The data showed that while during the first half of 2018 imports into the US decreased by almost 1 million tonnes (-7 %) when compared to the same period in 2017, imports into the Union followed an almost identical opposite trend, with an increase in imports of 1,2 million tonnes (+7 %).(27)This trend is explained because the main steel exporting countries to the Union also exported relevant volumes to the US market. While export volumes to the US were decreasing (as a result of the effects of the 25 % duty under the US Section 232), the volume of exports of some of these countries to the Union increased in parallel. Furthermore, and as explained in recital (3) above, exports from these countries into other third markets generally decreased.(28)Therefore, the impossibility to export in the same amounts to the US after the US Section 232 measure entered into force put exporting countries in a situation where they were forced to seek other outlets for their steel. In this case, because the Union market was very attractive in terms of size and prices compared to other third markets, it was a natural target for exporting countries and this resulted in increased imports, notably from origins who lost export volumes to the US. These trends are shown in the graphs belowSource: GTA, cumulated exports from Türkiye, Korea, Russia and Taiwan to the United States (graph 2); and cumulated exports from the same countries to the USA and the Union (graph 3)..(29)In view of these facts, the Commission confirmed that the increase in imports into the Union that took place in the period of investigation was the result (together with the other unforeseen developments established) of the US Section 232 measure.Cumulative assessment(30)The Commission also concluded that the increase in imports occurred as a result of the combination of all the identified unforeseen developments (global overcapacity, increase of trade defence measures and trade restrictive measures in third countries and the US Section 232 measure). The existence of several unforeseen developments at the same time reinforces the finding of a logical connection between the increase in imports into the Union, which was an attractive and major market for steel exports, and the identified unforeseen developments.1.2.Threat of serious injury(31)The original determination established that if the Union did not impose a safeguard measure, there was a threat of serious injury for the domestic producers as imports were expected to continue increasing, notably due (but not limited) to trade diversion originating in the US Section 232 measure, and thus to add import pressure in terms of price and volumesSee recitals (90) and (110) of the Definitive Regulation.. This section of the Regulation will develop in further detail why a threat of serious injury existed and was well founded in light of the evidence available at the time of the imposition of the definitive measure. To do so, this section of the Regulation will provide additional explanations and clarifications on the following aspects leading to the finding of a threat of serious injury: i) situation of the Union industry and reasons explaining its partial recovery in 2017; ii) role of EU TDI measures in the situation of the Union industry; iii) impact of US Section 232 measure – including recent import evolution into the Union; iv) most recent evolution of steel and raw material prices; v) state of play of TDI measures in third countries and overcapacity; vi) market outlooks and forecasts.Continuous attractiveness of the Union market(32)In recitals (1) to (4) above, the Commission explained how the Union market was attractive in terms of size and prices and how these features contributed to an increasing amount of imports into the Union market in the period of investigation.(33)The Commission’s considered that these features remained the same at the end of the investigation that led to the imposition of the definitive safeguard, confirming that in 2018, the Union market continued to be an attractive market in terms of sizeSee OECD Steel Committee – Recent developments in steel trade and trade policy measures, 17-18 September, 2018, p. 8, Table 2 (showing that in 2018 Union was consolidating further its position as main steel importing country worldwide). and prices. The main steel exporting countries to the Union achieved a higher price in the Union market as compared to the export prices achieved in other third markets for 48 % to 81 % of the CN codes concernedSource: DG TRADE calculations on Global Trade Atlas data (https://ihsmarkit.com/index.html)– raw data available upon subscription. For details, see Note to the file dated 30 November 2022, Table 1.. Thus confirming the continuous attractiveness in terms of prices. Regarding size, the Union continued to be a relevant export market, representing for some exporting countries almost 40 % and for some of them around 25 % of their total exports, depending on the exporting countryIbid.(34)Furthermore, the Commission concluded that there were no elements among the data assessed, including submissions from interested parties, indicating that the Union market would become any less attractive in the near future. In fact, as shown in this Annex (see as an example subsections 1.2.3 and 1.2.5 below) there was an increasing lack of alternative outlets where exporting producers could reach the same or similar volumes of exports as they did in the past, and as a result the import pressure on the attractive Union market would increase even further.1.2.1.Situation of the Union industry and factors explaining its partial recovery in 2017(35)Section VI.1 of the Provisional Regulation and Sections 5.1 to 5.3 of the Definitive Regulation explained the situation of the Union industry at the end of the period analysed, and the evolution of the injury indicators since 2013, concluding that Union industry was in a fragile and vulnerable position.(36)The finding of vulnerability despite a partial improvement in 2017, was explained by a number of factors that allowed the Union industry to reach, only in 2017, overall healthier levels of profitability than in previous years despite continuous increasing importsImposition of TDI measures on some product categories also contributed to this improvement, but their specific role is analysed in Section 1.2.2..(37)First, the profitability of the Union industry throughout the period analysed showed a generally poor performance, incurring losses (2013) or achieving very low level of profits (2014-2016). While in 2017 the industry achieved for the first time in a period of five years a healthier level of profitability, this did not reach a magnitude that would make up for the previous performance over a four-year period. Even on that year, for a large number of product categories, profitability remained low. Three product categories remained loss making and 13 product categories close to break-even. Only seven product categories could recover to a level of profit above 6 % in 2017Recital (53) of the Provisional Regulation.. In this respect, a key different factor in 2017 related to the evolution and level of its unit sales prices and the difference with the cost of production compared with that of previous years. Regarding the price, in 2017 it increased by around 18 % with respect to the previous year (106 EUR/tonne increase). At the same time, even if the cost of production also increased in that year (by 82 EUR/tonne compared with the previous year)See Table 15 of the Definitive Regulation., the Union industry was able to achieve the biggest (positive) margin between the two in the period analysed (36 EUR/tonne), which resulted in higher profitabilityThese trends were assessed for the product concerned, and not for individual product categories.. However, this exceptionalBased on a comparison of all the years in the period analysed. situation was, according to the most recent developments analysed in the investigation not expected to be of a long-lasting nature and there were clear trends showing that it was already reversing (see Section 1.2.4).(38)Second, while the Union industry was able to increase its volume of sales in overall terms by 7 % in 2017 when compared to 2013See Table 4 of the Definitive Regulation., contributing to improving partially its performance in that year, it was clearly unable to fully benefit from a much higher increase in consumption in the same period (+14 %)Ibid in the Union market although it continued to have sufficient capacity available in 2017 (76 % in 2017 of capacity utilisation compared to 75 % in 2016)See Table 5 of the Definitive Regulation. to increase its domestic sales further. It is noteworthy that the Union industry barely improved its capacity utilisation in 2017 compared with the previous year. Such suppressed performance could be explained by the significant increasing import pressure (in terms of volumes and prices) that the Union industry suffered in the period assessed. In fact, imports benefitted to a much larger extent than Union producers from the increase in consumption. While Union producers lost market share consistently year-on-year (from 87,2 % to 81,9 %)See Table 4 of the Definitive Regulation. imports experienced a drastic increase (+71 %)See Table 2 of the Definitive Regulation., representing an increase in their market share from 12,7 % in 2013 to 18,8 % in 2017Ibid. The market share of imports in the MRP was 18,8 %, which was even higher than in 2017 (18,1 %). These trends could be explained by the consistent undercutting of importsSee Annex III of the Provisional Regulation., which thus prevented the Union industry from realising either the full (or at least a greater) potential of market developments.(39)Third, while market conditions overall improved (with increased consumption, domestic sales and price levels), the Union industry was still unable to translate this into more employment, which had suffered the loss of nearly 10000 workers in the Union in the period 2013-2017See Table 7 of Definitive Regulation.. In 2017 employment level even decreased very slightly compared to 2016. Lastly, stocks grew by 19 % over the investigation period and remained high in 2017See Table 5 of the Definitive Regulation..(40)Therefore, the Union industry improved partially its performance in 2017 as a result of a combination of factors, notably the increase in consumption and of domestic sales and the higher difference between steel and raw material priceSee Section 1.2.2. for the explanation of the role of recent TDI measures in the Union industry’s performance in 2017. but this improvement was nevertheless limited by the degree of import pressure suffered in that year, which did not allow the Union industry to benefit to a greater extent from such existing factors. The continuous loss of market share and the persistent undercutting across product categories, or the jobs that it was not able to recuperate, were clear signs that its situation was not that of an industry that had fully recovered from the effects of previous negative performances in previous years, and that import pressure was playing a key role in impeding such recovery.(41)Since some of these factors that developed positively in 2017 were reversing in 2018 (see below latest developments and expected performance for steel and raw material prices, as well as expected trends in consumption) in a situation where import pressure was expected to increase in terms of volumes and prices, the impact on the financial situation of the Union industry would be negative.(42)In other words, while the Union industry was able partially recover due to the cumulated positive developments of a series of key factors in the market and to slower increase of imports in 2017 compared with previous yearsTotal imports increased by around 1 million tons and their market share went up from 17,9 to 18,1 % from 2016 to 2017, which is less than previous year-on-year increases both in absolute and relative terms., the negative turn that most of these factors were showing at the end of 2018 would necessarily result in a worsening of the Union industry’s situation against the ongoing further increase of import pressure, which this time, due to its magnitude and the expected prevailing market context, the Union industry would not be able to sustain. As a result, the situation of the Union industry at the end of the investigation period was that of vulnerability to a further surge in imports.1.2.2.Role of Union TDI measures in the situation of the Union industry in 2017(43)In this Section the Commission provides the necessary additional explanations and supporting data regarding the role played by TDI measures on the partial recovery of the Union industry in 2017.(44)In the first place, to carry out this exercise, the Commission selected those measures imposed in the years 2015 and 2016 because the Commission considered that those would be the measures whose effects on the Union industry’s performance in 2017 could be partially attributed toIn this regard the Commission considered that, for instance, a TDI measure imposed in 2013 would be too far in time to be connected to the Union’s improved performance in 2017, and therefore, the selected measures offer a more accurate and appropriate basis for the analysis.. Therefore, under these parameters, prior to 2017 the Commission had imposed six TDI measures on imports from product categories which were subsequently subject to the safeguard measureIn some cases the scope of a TDI measure on a certain product, in terms of CN codes covered, may not Match entirely the product definition of the corresponding product category under the safeguard measure, thus this assessment is an approximation..(45)These measures were the followingThese references to these regulations pertain to the regulations imposing a provisional measure, because for practical purposes, as long as a duty (provisional or definitive) was in place, it was assumed to have a similar impact on the volumes traded. In all these cases, the investigation resulted in the imposition of a definitive measure.: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/501Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/501 of 24 March 2015 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan (OJ L 79, 25.3.2015, p. 23)., Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/181Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/181 of 10 February 2016 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of certain cold-rolled flat steel products originating in the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation (OJ L 37, 12.2.2016, p. 1)., Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1778Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1778 of 6 October 2016 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel originating in the People's Republic of China (OJ L 272, 7.10.2016, p. 33)., Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/113Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/113 of 28 January 2016 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of high fatigue performance steel concrete reinforcement bars originating in the People's Republic of China (OJ L 23, 29.1.2016, p. 16)., Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1777Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1777 of 6 October 2016 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of certain heavy plate of non-alloy or other alloy steel originating in the People's Republic of China (OJ L 272, 7.10.2016, p. 5). and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/969Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/969 of 8 June 2017 imposing definitive countervailing duties on imports of certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel originating in the People's Republic of China and amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/649 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel originating in the People's Republic of China (OJ L 146, 9.6.2017, p. 17)..(46)The Commission observed that the profitability of Union producers in these product categories systematically improved in the year following the imposition of measures. In particular, the Commission found that, in 2017, profitability generally improvedSource: DG TRADE analysis of the injury indicators published in the relevant measures and analysis of the questionnaire replies provided by the Union industry per product category in the framework of the original safeguard investigation. For details, see Note to the File dated 30 November 2022, Table 4., although for a large number of category products profitability remained low, in particular for the product categories subject to recent TDI measures, and that import prices of third countries (other than those subject to the TDI measures in question) generally increased temporarily in 2017 following the imposition of the TDI measuresSource: Eurostat.(47)Furthermore, the volumes affected by the recent trade defence measures represented around 40 % of total imports within the product categories subject to recent TDI measures in the period consideredThe sum of imports subject to TDI measures by these investigations (although they concern different periods of investigation and different years, e.g. 2013 to 2015) was slightly above 5 million tonnes. and in the years following the imposition of those TDI measures their volumes in the Union market went down by more than 90 %Source: DG TRADE analysis of its own TDI cases for the volume of imports in the relevant investigation period, and Eurostat for import figures following the investigation period of each of these investigations for this implementation.. Therefore, the substantial reduction of unfair traded imports that ensued the imposition of measures generally allowed Union producers and other exporting countries to increase their sales prices in 2017.(48)Moreover all product categories subject to recent trade defence measures experienced a significant improvement in profitabilityCategories 1, 2, 7, 9, 12 and 13., several of which exceeded 6 % in 2017Categories 1, 2 and 9.. For the rest of categories, the picture was more diverse, with few categories exceeding or reaching close to 6 % profitabilitySee categories 4, 8 and 14., other categories improving but still showing weak or low profitability levelsSee categories 5, 6, 15, 16 and 26, and others loss-making or around 1 % profitabilitySee categories 3, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25 and 28., irrespective of the recent trends. Thus showing that the picture in terms of evolution of profitability was not homogeneous among categories and that in overall terms, most categoriesAt least fifteen categories out of a total of twenty three subject to a provisional measure (for which a breakdown was provided in Annex III of the Provisional Regulation. were, in 2017, either loss making or with unhealthy levels of profitability, even if their situation had improved in some cases as compared to the previous year. Thus confirming the fragility of the overall situation of the Union industry despite the situation being better than the preceding year.(49)However, as explained below, the trend of increasing pricing in 2017 was temporary and started reversing in 2018 when the Union was faced with a surge in imports mainly from third countries not subject to trade defence measures and the trade diversion caused by the US Section 232 measure. This is shown by the volume of imports in the MRP that reached a record figure of 31314 tonnes despite the imposition of recent trade defence measures in some product categories. This showed that while recent TDI measures contributed to the partial and temporary improvement of the Union industry, they also benefitted those exporting countries not subject to measures, which had also started to increase significantly their presence in the Union marketFor instance, Türkiye increased its presence in the Union market in category 1, where China was made subject to TDI measures in October 2016, from 1062247 tonnes in 2016 to 2 million tonnes in 2017 (and nearly 3 million tonnes in 2018. In the same vein, India increased from 443551 tonnes to 1121334 tonnes in 2017, or Egypt, from 47400 tonnes in 2016 to 409432 tonnes in 2017..(50)Hence, the Commission confirmed that the imposition of TDI measures contributed to the overall performance of Union producers, insofar as these categories were concernedSection 1.2.1. explained the reasons behind the overall improvement of the Union industry regarding the product concerned..(51)In addition, the reasoning in sections 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 clearly showed that some factors explaining the partial recovery of the Union (e.g. consumption) did not affect or benefit Union producers and exporting countries equally or similarly, as the latter were able to increase greatly (+71 % in volumes) their presence in the Union market at the expense of Union producers which lost market share, and only saw a relatively modest increase in overall sales volumes (+7 %) when compared to the continuous growth of imports.1.2.3.Impact of US Section 232 measure(52)In the Definitive RegulationSee recitals (57) to (62), and Table 12 of the Definitive Regulation. the Commission reached the conclusion that the US Section 232 would be liable of significant trade diversion into the Union market.(53)In this respect, the Commission has conducted a more detailed analysis of the import patterns into the Union and the USA, both in overall terms and then further analysing the behaviour of certain exporting countries. This analysis showed that when comparing the imports into the US and into the Union in the first half of 2018 with the first half of 2017, imports into the US decreased by almost 1 million tonnes (-7 %) when compared to the same period in 2017, imports into the Union followed an almost identical opposite trend, with an increase in imports of 1,2 million tonnes (+7 %) (See recital (26) above). When assessing the developments in the second half of 2018 and the same period in 2017, these opposing trends become more acute. In fact, imports into the US decreased by 2,4 million tonnes (-19 %) while imports into the Union increased by more than 2 million tonnes (+15 %)To put this volume into context, a basic calculation taking the average steel price in the Union in 2017 shows that the EU industry could lose out on around 1,4 billion EUR worth of domestic sales as a result of these additional imports. Thus showing that the potential impact of these additional sales was relevant..(54)This resulted in an overall yearly reduction of imports into the US of 3,3 million tonnes (-13 %) and an increase of imports into the Union of 3,2 million tonnes (+11 %), out of which 72 % of the total volumes reduced into the US and 63 % of the imports increase in the Union took place in the second half of 2018Whereas the increase in imports into the Union from 2016 to 2017 was much smaller, around 1 million tonnes..(55)Therefore, the pace and magnitude at which these trends of imports accelerated in the second half of 2018 showed that the impact of the US Section 232 measure was taking progressively more effect as it had been in place already for a few months, and that exporting countries were rapidly adjusting to the new market situationSee also OECD Steel Committee – Recent developments in steel trade and trade policy measures, 17-18 September, 2018, p. 8, Table 2..(56)Zooming in into the behaviour of exporting countries to both the US and EU market, the Commission confirmed this trend. For instance, countries like Türkiye, Russia, South Korea and TaiwanAt the time of the adoption of the definitive safeguard measure, only the following four TDI measures affecting imports into the Union were in place (three against Russia and one against Taiwan): Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1795 of 5 October 2017 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel originating in Brazil, Iran, Russia and Ukraine and terminating the investigation on imports of certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel originating in Serbia (OJ L 258, 6.10.2017, p. 24). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1328 of 29 July 2016 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of certain cold rolled flat steel products originating in the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation (OJ L 210, 4.8.2016, p. 1). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1469 of 1 October 2018 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain seamless pipes and tubes, of iron or steel, originating in Russia and Ukraine, following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 246, 2.10.2018, p. 20). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1429 of 26 August 2015 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan (OJ L 224, 27.8.2015, p. 10)., which accounted for significant volumes of exports to the US and to the Union, saw the following trends in 2018 when compared to 2017: Türkiye decreased its exports to the US by around 850000 tonnes (-45 %) and it increased its exports to the Union by 2,6 million tonnes (+56 %). Similarly, Russia’s exports to the US went down by more than 250000 tonnes (-36 %) and increased by 870000 tonnes (+23 %) in the Union, South Korea’s exports to the US decreased by more than 880000 tonnes (-27 %) while increasing in the Union by around 250000 tonnes (+8 %), and lastly Taiwan’s exports to the US went down by around 160000 tonnes (-14 %) while increased by more than 500000 tonnes (+40 %) in the UnionSource: for US imports (GTA); for EU imports (Eurostat)..(57)Therefore, these figures showed that exporting producers were generally able to ship, at least part of the volumes lost in the US, to the Union market, and in some cases to increase their presence in the Union market well above the volumes lost in the US. Given the size of the US marketThe US steel market was among the top import destinations by size - See OECD, "Recent Developments in Steel Trade and Trade Policy Measures", DSTI/SC(2018)3, p. 9, table 3., the fact that the US Section 232 measure was still in its first months of application and hence had not yet reached its full intended effectsSee recital (35) of the Provisional Regulation: "The U.S. have calculated that the imposition of a single across product tariff under the Section 232 measures with almost no country exclusion should decrease imports by approximately 13 million tonnes – corresponding to 7 % of Union consumption.", it was reasonable to expect that the exports to the US would continue to decrease in significant volumes and that exporting producers would be able to adapt to these circumstances and increase their presence in the Union market even further.(58)Therefore, the Commission confirmed that the US Section 232 measure was liable to cause an even greater trade diversion of exports into the Union market in the near future.1.2.4.Most recent evolution of steel and raw material prices(59)In the Definitive Regulation the Commission noted that "steel prices in the Union started to follow a declining trend since the third quarter of 2018"See recital (89) of the Definitive Regulation..(60)In this respect the Commission observed in section 1.2.1 above, that one of the factors that explained a partial improvement in the Union industry’s performance in 2017 was that the difference between steel price and raw material cost was higher than in any of the previous years of the period analysed. However, a further detailed analysis of the most recent developments prior to the imposition of a definitive measure showed that the trend was reversing and that the positive difference between the two was squeezing progressively, and therefore that would have a negative impact on the economic performance of the Union industry.(61)As shown in the graph 4 belowSource: Eurostat for import prices, and S&P Global Commodity Insights for prices of HDG and HRC., steel prices in the Union saw a steady decline in the second half of 2018. This trend could be expected to continue in light of the uncertain market prospects (see Section 1.2.6) and as a result of the continuous and increasing import pressure in terms of volumes and prices, which against a worsening or uncertain market conditions, would likely have a downwards effect on prices, thus not allowing Union industry to adapt its prices to the increased costs. In the graph 5Source: S&P Global Commodity Insights. it is observed how the price of some of the main steelmaking raw materials were increasing constantly over the same period.(62)Therefore, such combined trends, for which there were no signs of reversal in the near future, would put the Union industry in an even more strained financial situation.(63)In addition, the Commission considered that in a likely scenario of further import pressure and in a market that was not to experience any significant growth, the trends of undercutting domestic prices identified in the original investigation would exacerbate further. Thus creating additional difficulties to Union producers who would face the decision either to compete for market share, at the expense of more sustainable prices, or to preserve a higher level of prices at the expense of continuing to lose market share. In both scenarios, its financial performance would be negatively impacted.(64)Furthermore, the Commission noted that this evolution in prices coincided with the period when a provisional safeguard measure was already in place (since mid-July 2018). Therefore showing that exporting countries were having an even more aggressive import behaviour under the measure, and showing their continued interest to enter the Union market in large volumes despite a provisional safeguard measure being in place.1.2.5.State of play of TDI measures in third countries and overcapacity(65)In Sections 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 the Commission explained the evolution and more recent situation of overcapacity and TDI measures in third countries. In view of that information, the Commission considered that it was highly unlikely that there would be a reversal of the existing situation in the near future. For instance, TDI measures are usually imposed for a period of five years, and they can be prolonged further. In particular, because many of the measures had been imposed within the few years prior to the adoption of the EU steel safeguard measureAround 140 of the investigations that led to the adoption of measures were initiated in the year 2015 or later, hence their duration was set to be in place, in principle, until at least 2021 (this is, at least 2 years after the conclusion of the EU safeguard investigation). Source: WTO, Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP)., they were set to continue in place a least for the immediate future. Regarding overcapacity, the reports referred to by the Commission did not indicate that there were signs that overcapacity was going to go down to any significant extent, if anything, they suggested that the situation of global overcapacity in the sector could even deteriorate furtherSee OECD, "Recent Developments in Steelmaking Capacity", DSTI/SC(2018)2/FINAL: "the updated information on announced investment projects suggests that nearly 52 million tonnes of gross capacity additions are currently underway and could come on stream during the three-year period of 2018-20. An additional 39 million tonnes of capacity additions are currently in the planning stages for possible start-up during the same time period".. In fact, the Global Forum of Steel Excess capacity was also very clear in concluding that overcapacity continued to be an ongoing problem in late 2018. It noted, "Excess steelmaking capacity – a global challenge that continues to plague the sector – creates significant difficulties for steel producers in advanced, emerging and developing economies alike"Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity, Ministerial Report, 20 September 2018, paragraph 2..(66)The proven effects that these factors had caused in the Union market in the form of substantial increase in imports were detailed in Section 1.1 above, as well as in the Definitive Regulation. As they were set to continue in place in the near future, their effects were thus expected to be of the same nature and therefore, together with the U.S Section 232 measure would generate a further increase of imports into the Union, with ensuing negative effects on the Union industry, if no safeguard measure was imposed.(67)Therefore, the Commission concluded that these elements would continue to play an important role in the Union steel market in the near future and were thus pertinent for the analysis of a threat of serious injury.1.2.6.Market outlooks and forecasts(68)Throughout the period analysed, consumption of steel in the Union market increased year-on-yearDefinitive Regulation, table 4.. This trend allowed the Union industry to, generally, also increase its volume of sales, which in turn allowed it to alleviate to some extent the effects of the import pressure it was subject to and showed by the persistent undercutting and steady loss of market share. As explained in Section 1.2.1, in 2017 this increase in sales in a context of a recovery in prices (both in overall terms and when compared to evolution of costs) allowed to the Union industry to partially recover from a consistent negative financial performance in previous years. In Section 1.2.4, the Commission observed a downward trend in steel prices in the Union parallel to an increase in raw material prices.(69)The Commission then assessed the economic outlooks and forecasts for the period that would follow the conclusion of the investigation in order to assess the existence of a threat of serious injury, analysing a variety of specialized market sources.(70)In this regard, sources consistently pointed to a scenario of uncertainty and cooling down of worldwide steel demand in the near future. Worldsteel Association noted, "deceleration in steel demand will continue into 2019 (…). No deal Brexit and trade war pose risks"See Worldsteel Association – Global Steel Market Outlook – OECD Steel Committee Meeting, 17 September 2018.. It also recalled, "While the strength of steel demand recovery seen in 2017 was carried over to 2018, risks have increased. Rising trade tensions and volatile currency movements are increasing uncertainty"See Worldsteel Association - Worldsteel Short Range Outlook October 2018, Press Release..(71)The OECD noted, "recovery (of steel market conditions) looks fragile because of persistent structural imbalances"See OECD Steel Market Developments, 85th Session of the Steel Committee, September 2018. See also pages 7 and 8 of OECD Global Economic Outlook, 17 September 2018, showing a downwards revision of growth expectations (also in the Union), and that "global trade had slowed amid growing trade policy uncertainties".. Other market sources like S&P Global Platts echoed this uncertainty sentiment in its Global Market Outlook of December 2018.(72)Moreover, the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity concluded in September 2018 "While steel market conditions have shown some cyclical recovery in 2017, the underlying trend in global steel demand remains weak and excess capacity remains significant"Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity, Ministerial Report, 20 September 2018, paragraph 2..(73)In the same vein, Eurofer (an EU Steel Association), noted "(…) ongoing trade frictions with the US, and cooling global demand, suggest that external risks could continue to climb, which in turn would increase uncertainty and lead to weakening prospects for EU steel users"See EUROFER – Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2018-2019, 25 October 2018..(74)Therefore, the data analysed from a variety of sources consistently showed that the expectation was that at best, a modest increase in steel consumption would take place although this was not even certain as prospects were deteriorating amid growing uncertainty. As a result, the stagnating global steel demand would make it even more likely that steel exporters would sell into the attractive Union market.Conclusion on threat of serious injury(75)The data analysed in this Section confirmed that imports were very likely going to increase in relevant volumes and that import pressure was thus going to continue, both on volumes and prices, as a result of the persistent overcapacity and the increasing number of TDI measures in third countries, whose effects on exports would continue. In addition, the effects of the US Section 232 would very likely be felt more strongly as months passed by, thus adding further pressure to the Union market through an increased risk of trade diversion, the first signs of which had already materialised.(76)Against this background, the Commission also confirmed the opposing trends of steel and raw material prices in the second half of 2018, and the uncertain market outlook for the near future.(77)Therefore, in view of the elements analysed in this Annex, together with the findings in the original determination the Commission confirmed that there was a threat of serious injury and that such serious injury would have materialised if the Commission had not imposed a definitive safeguard measure.1.3.Obligations whose effect resulted in the increase in imports(78)Article XIX:1(a) of the GATT 1994 stipulates, in relevant part: "[i]f, as a result … of the effect of the obligations incurred by a [Member] under this Agreement, including tariff concessions, any product is being imported into the territory of that [Member] in such increased quantities …".(79)The product in question comprises several tariff linesSee Annex I to the Definitive Regulation..(80)On all of these tariff lines, the European Union has, as a result of tariff concessions made in past rounds of multilateral trade negotiations, the tariff commitments ofFor further details see Note to the file dated 30 November 2022, Table 5.:0 % ad valorem(81)These concessions were inscribed, at the time of the safeguard determination, in Part I, Section II of the European Union’s Schedule of Concessions and Commitments, certified as Schedule EU CLXXIII – European Union on 1 December 2016WTO doc. WT/Let/1220, as amended. The column for "other duties and charges" in that Schedule and regarding the above tariff lines was empty.(82)As a result of these concessions inscribed in the European Union’s Schedule of Concessions and Commitments, annexed to the GATT and incorporated pursuant to Article II:7 of the GATT 1994, the European Union had, at the time of the safeguard determination, obligations incurred under the GATT 1994 notably as follows: Article XI:1, prohibiting non-tariff restrictions on the importation of the above-listed products, and, importantly, Article II:1(a) and Article II:1(b), first and second sentences, of the GATT 1994. Under Article II:1(b), first sentence, the EU is not allowed, absent an applicable exception, to impose ordinary customs duties on the product in question in excess of those set forth and provided in the relevant part of the EU’s Schedule of Concessions and Commitments, i.e. the zero rate pointed out above for each of the tariff lines covered. At the time of the original safeguard determination as well as of the imposition of the definitive safeguard measure, the EU’s applied import tariffs on the product covered by the safeguard was 0 %. In other words, for ordinary customs duties, these applied tariffs were already the maximum permitted under Article II:1(a) and Article II:1(b), first sentence, of the GATT 1994. As for other duties or charges, no flexibility existed under Article II:1(b), second sentence, for introducing additional other duties or charges than ordinary customs duties.(83)The product subject to the safeguard was being imported in increased quantities (as established in the definitive safeguard) as a result of the above obligations undertaken under the GATT 1994 (Article XI:1, Article II:1(a) and II:1(b), first and second sentences, of the GATT 1994), because those obligations, combined with the tariff concessions which the European Union made in the successive rounds of multilateral trade negotiations, enhanced and secured the conditions of market access for imports of the product subject to the safeguard on the market of the European Union. The above-mentioned tariff commitments of the European Union thus resulted in the increase in imports and gave no leeway for the EU to increase ordinary customs duties in lieu of introducing a safeguard measure. This simultaneously explains how the obligations in question resulted in the increase in imports that threatened to cause serious injury.(84)The GATT obligations specified simultaneously prevented the EU from increasing the applied import duties on the product at issue. These were thus, the European Union’s "obligations of the GATT 1994 [which] constrain[ed] its ability to prevent or remedy injury from an increase in imports". Concomitantly, the European Union "suspend[ed] those obligations as a result" of its safeguard measure.

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