The European Federation of Associations of Steel, Tube and Metal Distributors (EUROMETAL) has published some demands and comments concerning the ongoing functioning review of the EU safeguard measures on steel imports, which will be concluded by March 31, 2025. The federation has called for the extension of the comment submission deadline of January 10 for the steel safeguard review, considering the holiday season that spanned late December and early January.
In December last year, the European Commission initiated a functioning review of the safeguard measures on imports of certain steel products, excluding grain-oriented electrical steel, as SteelOrbis previously reported.
Stating that divergences in customs rules across member states often result in inconsistent and incorrect declarations, resulting in an unequal treatment of European importers, EUROMETAL has proposed to the European Commission that the review should address the need for harmonized customs procedures across the EU to ensure fair and consistent application of the measures.
Meanwhile, EUROMETAL is asking for a clear definition of “Union users” or “steel users” to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are appropriately recognized and accounted for in the review process. EUROMETAL ends its statement by saying that it supports the proposal by EUROFER for the organization of a Steel Summit by the European Commission, in order to hold negotiations given the current difficulties faced by the steel industry.