EU unveils new steel import quotas to protect its industry from overcapacity, reserves half for FTA partners

BRUSSELS: The European Commission unveiled quotas under the new system to limit duty-free steel imports into the European Union, in a move designed to protect the bloc's steel sector and increase its capacity utilisation to 80%.

In the ‌new rules, ⁠the ⁠EU's annual tariff-free import quotas are slashed by 47% to 18.3 million tonnes, while an out-of-quota duty of 50% is introduced for 26 categories of steel products imported into the EU.

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Half of the import quotas have been reserved exclusively for free trade agreement (FTA) ⁠partners, with ‌the remaining half available to all trading partners, including FTA partners.

Many of those ⁠partners will receive country-specific quotas proportionate to their ​historic volumes, the commission added.

"Most of ​the EU's FTA partners will therefore see a market access reduction significantly lower than the average reduction of 47% foreseen by the Steel Regulation," it said.

A "significant number" of partners have provisionally ‌agreed with the these allocations, the Commission said.

The Commission stressed the rules were ​needed to ​protect the European steel ⁠industry from overcapacity elsewhere in the world and dumping practices.

"Persistent global overcapacity in the steel sector remains a ​serious global problem and continues to distort international markets," it said.

"The measure restore fair competition in a market affected by distortions linked to overcapacity," it added.