The Ministry of Econony of Ukraine has introduced the licensing of seamless and OCTG pipes imports, effective as of November 10, 2008, following the earlier imposition of a quota system. The licenses are issued for a period of 90 days from the moment of their signing.
According to the Ministry's order No. 552 from October 13, 2008, the quota system in question is divided into three annual periods. In the first period, October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009, the quota will total 14,504 mt of pipes. In the second period from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010, the quota will increase to 15,230 mt, and finally to 15,955 mt for the third period covering October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011.