The UK’s Department of International Trade has revised the safeguard measures for Category 12, non-alloy and other alloy merchant bars and light sections. The changes will take effect from January 1, 2022.
It was stated that the previous Category 12 quota will be split and replaced by two new quota product categories, with revised quota amounts for Category 12A, alloy merchant bars and light sections, and Category 12B, non-alloy merchant bars and light with sections.
Earlier, Chinese merchant bar imports were not subject to any country specific quota, with the revision China will be subject to a country specific quota for Category 12A.
In September this year, the trade association UK Steel and the Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM) have proposed a split for category 12 into merchant and specialty bar products, which is in short supply in the UK, to protect historical trade flows and established supply chains for both segments, while preventing surges in imports for which the safeguards are intended, as SteelOrbis previously reported.