The new quota period in the EU which started on January 1 seems to be different this time as only lower volumes of certain steel products for which quotas were filled in the first weeks of the previous quota periods are waiting for customs clearance, against the backdrop of lower demand in the EU. On the other hand, for some other products such as Chinese merchant bar, almost 50 percent and more of the quota is expected to be exhausted once the volumes waiting at ports are cleared by customs.
The EU rebar and wire rod quotas for Turkey do not look like being exhausted swiftly in this quota period, compared to the previous periods. 2,952 mt of Turkish rebar and 1,446 mt of wire rod are waiting for customs clearance, while the rebar and wire rod quotas allocated for Turkey are 88,801 mt and 110,837 mt, respectively. For merchant bar, 26,634 mt of Turkish merchant bar is waiting at EU ports, with the quota amounting to 99,782 mt for Turkey, while 52 percent of Turkey’s stainless cold rolled coil quota volume is waiting for customs clearance. In addition, 19,113 mt of Turkish gas pipes are waiting at EU ports, with the quota amounting to 46,543 mt.
Looking at China’s quotas, 90 percent of the country’s merchant bar quota volume is waiting for customs clearance, while 71.6 percent of China’s stainless bar and light section quota is waiting at EU ports.
Meanwhile, 49,570 mt of South Korean hot rolled coil is waiting at EU ports, with the quota amounting to 175,460 mt for the country. The EU’s HRC quotas for Turkey and China are also not expected to be exhausted quickly this time as such small volumes, which are not worth mentioning, are waiting for customs clearance.