EU Safeguard Review Results Officially Announced

Date:2025-03-26 11:59:00View:44Tags:Ronsco,Stainless Steel Supplier

The European Commission has officially released the results of the technical review of the EU Safeguard measure on certain steel products. The new regulation, COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2025/612, amends Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159, which imposed a definitive safeguard measure on imports of certain steel products.

Despite some tightening of the measures, such as reducing the rate of liberalization of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) from 1% to 0.1%, the European steel producers’ lobbying group, EUROFER, was unsuccessful in pushing through many of its demands, which were seen by many as exaggerated and, in some cases, illegal.

Key Changes to the Safeguard Measure

One significant change is the more detailed allocation of TRQs based on import pressure. The Commission has now categorized the 26 product categories under the Safeguard measure into four groups, from very high to no import pressure. Each group has different adjustments and targets.

Additionally, the access rules to the residual quotas have been adjusted. Countries with specific quotas and significant import pressure will no longer have access to the residual quota in the final quarter of the year.

New Grouping of Product Categories by Import Pressure

The EU Safeguard product categories have been divided into four groups, with targeted measures applied to each. These groups are as follows:

Group	Description	Categories
1. Very High Import Pressure	Very high quota utilization (>84%), increased import share, declining demand	1A, 4A, 7, 21, 24
2. High Import Pressure	High quota utilization (~90%), declining demand, increased import share	2, 5, 6, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25B
3. Moderate Import Pressure	Moderate quota utilization (~65%), stable import share, decreasing consumption	3B, 13, 15, 26
4. No Import Pressure	Low quota utilization, no action required	1B, 3A, 4B, 8, 9, 10, 12, 19, 25A, 27, 28

Adjusted Access to EU Safeguard Residual Quotas (Q4)

The access rules for the EU Safeguard residual quotas in the last quarter of the year have been updated:

Access Type	New Regulation from April 2025
No Access	1A, 2, 3B, 4A, 5, 6, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25B, 26
Access Allowed	1B, 3A, 9, 10, 12, 27, 28
Special	4B (30% limit per country remains in place)
Globally Managed Categories	7, 8, 17, 25A (no change possible)

Impact on Stainless Steel Products

The tightening of the Safeguard measure also affects certain stainless steel products. Specifically, long products in the categories Stainless Bars and Light Sections (14), Stainless Wire Rod (15), and Seamless Stainless Tubes and Pipes (22) will be impacted by these new regulations.