Following the US decision to temporarily exclude some countries, including the European Union, from its Section 232 import tariffs until May 1, Axel Eggert, director general of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), has stated that the US has only suspended the EU’s inclusion provisionally, while adding that EUROFER is pushing for safeguard measures that ensure the stability of the EU steel market since the risk of damaging trade deflection remains high.
“The European steel industry has crawled through a decade of exogenously-induced crisis - a crisis that we are only just emerging from. We cannot face seeing this fragile recovery put at risk as a result of steel deflected from the US market. This is why we continue to call for quickly deployed, broad, quota-based safeguards that keep the EU market open but fully reflect the scope of the US measure,” stated Mr. Eggert.
According to EUROFER, the US Section 232 investigation covered a wide range of steel products, including finished, semi-finished and pipes, of all qualities, including stainless. The EU exports about five million mt of such products to the US every year as one of its most reliable trade partners.
“The danger to the EU steel market has not disappeared. The EU is a larger importer of steels than the US - 40 million mt last year compared to the US’ 35 million mt. In the first two months of 2018, the mere whisper that the US would impose measures has coincided with a 12 percent surge in imports to the EU,” added Mr. Eggert.
“It bears repeating: the EU has only been provisionally suspended from measures. We now need clarity about ways the EU and the US can come to a longer-term, common understanding before May 1 if the exclusion is to be indefinite,” concluded the EUROFER director general.