Source: European Parliament
The steel industry is the sector most protected by trade defence instruments with over 70 trade defence measures including a safeguard.
Before imposing measures, the Commission conducts an EU interest test where it examines if the overall EU interest justifies the imposition of measures. It examines the interests of importers, users and consumers in that context. Users are encouraged to cooperate in investigations so their concerns can be taken into account when deciding to impose measures.
Once measures are imposed, if there is evidence that they are being evaded, the Commission imposes anti-circumvention measures to stamp out such practices — now almost a quarter of all measures address circumvention.
Furthermore, in the European Steel and Metals Action Plan[1] the Commission announced it would assess the introduction of the rule of ‘melted and poured’ which would allow action against the country where the metal was originally melted, regardless of the place of subsequent transformation. In addition, by the third quarter of 2025 at the latest, the Commission will propose a long-term measure providing a highly effective level of protection to the EU’s steel sector. It will take into account changes in EU demand as well as security and resilience considerations, while preserving a certain level of openness in the EU market.
Industry harmed by unfair competition from imports should contact the Complaints Office[2] of the Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security for information on the options available.