(1)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/612 (3) introduced some adjustments to the functioning of the definitive safeguard measure on imports of certain steel products pursuant to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 (4). One of the adjustments was the introduction of a 15 % cap to the share of the overall volume that may be provided by any single exporting country in category 17 (‘Angles, Shapes and Sections of Iron or Non Alloy Steel’).

(2)

Category 17, where Ukraine has historically been the biggest exporter to the Union, was ‘globalised’ in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, because Ukraine was no longer able to export the product, and this created a risk of shortage of supply for Union users (5). In practice, this meant that the existing country-specific quotas of the UK, Türkiye and Korea were merged with the quota for other countries (‘residual quota’), to establish instead a single quota available for all origins.

(3)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/978 provided for the possibility to reassess the globalisation of the quota in view of the development of trade flows in those categories and of the suspension of the application of the safeguard vis-a-vis Ukraine, or if undue crowding out effects are identified (6).

(4)

The review investigation identified undue crowding out of certain traditional suppliers in category 17. Therefore, the Commission introduced a 15 % cap in that category (7). However, available information indicates that country-cap is affecting the traditional trade flows of certain trading partners, restricting their access to duty-free volumes to levels below their historical trade levels.

(5)

Consequently, the Commission considers that the 15 % country-cap should be removed in order to preserve the traditional trade of these trading partners, with effect as of 1 August 2025.

(6)

To prevent the undue crowding out of traditional suppliers while preserving historical trade flows, the Commission finds it appropriate to reintroduce the country-specific quotas for the UK, Türkiye and Korea, and to reinstate the residual quota. Because there is also a risk of undue crowding out of traditional suppliers within this residual quota, the Commission finds it appropriate to introduce a 40 % cap per origin.

(7)

The access of certain origins to duty-free volumes corresponding to their traditional trade should be restored swiftly, in this case as of 1 August 2025.

(8)

Since it was not possible to introduce this change at the beginning of a safeguard quarter, the country-specific quotas of the UK, Türkiye and Korea and the ‘other countries’ quota for the quarter 1.7.2025 – 30.9.2025 will be determined by allocating on a pro-rata basis the remaining duty-free volumes available under the globalised quota on 1 August 2025, as indicated in Annex IV to this Implementing Regulation, which is based on traditional trade flows per origin.

(9)

As noted in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/612 (recital (72)), category 17 was classified under group 2 (significant import pressure). Therefore, the Commission considers that it is not appropriate to provide country-specific quota holders access to the residual quota during the last quarter of a safeguard year. For that purpose, the relevant tables in the Annexes to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 are corrected.

(10)

Since the United Kingdom – Northern Ireland quota (‘UKNI quota’) of category 17 is used exclusively by United Kingdom originating goods which are brought into Northern Ireland by direct transport from other parts of the United Kingdom and released for free circulation in the territory of Northern Ireland, as set out in Regulation (EU) 2023/2840 (8), this quota will not be impacted by the changes to the quota management of category 17. Furthermore, the UKNI quota does not affect the pro-rata allocation of volumes to quotas of third countries.

(11)

Furthermore, this Regulation should correct some other inaccuracies that have been identified after the publication of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/612.

(12)

As noted in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/612 (recital 76), in category 4B (‘Metallic Coated Sheets’), interested parties presented convincing evidence demonstrating that maintaining the status-quo aligns with the Union’s best interest. Therefore, category 4B was classified under ‘Group 4’ (no import pressure). Thus, for the sake of correctness, a cap in category 4B is removed.

(13)

In addition, in order to ensure that the requirements of Article 1 paragraph 7 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 are respected, footnotes 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 19 and 23 in Annex IV.1 are corrected.

(14)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Safeguards established under Article 3(3) of Regulation (EU) 2015/478 and Article 22(3) of Regulation (EU) 2015/755 respectively,

(1)

Article 1(5), is replaced by the following:

(2)

Article 1(7), is replaced by the following:

(3)

paragraph 8 is added to Article 1:

(1)

footnote 1 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8601

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8602

From 1.7 to 30.6: For Egypt: 09.8450, for Vietnam: 09.8451, for Japan: 09.8452, for Taiwan: 09.8453, for Australia: 09.8454, for Switzerland: 09.8455, for United States: 09.8456, for Libya: 09.8457, for Canada: 09.8458 and for Algeria: 09.8459’;

(2)

footnote 2 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8661

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8662’;

(3)

footnote 6 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8609

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8610

From 1.7 to 30.6: For Türkiye: 09.8430, for Vietnam: 09.8431, for Taiwan: 09.8432 and for Tunisia: 09.8422’;

(4)

footnote 7 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8611

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8612

From 1.4 to 30.6: For China*: 09.8581, for Korea, Republic of*: 09.8582, for India*: 09.8583 and for United Kingdom*: 09.8584 *In case of exhaustion of their specific quotas in accordance with Article 1.5’;

(5)

footnote 9 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8615

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8616

From 1.7 to 30.6: for India: 09.8423, for Türkiye: 09.8424 and for Japan: 09.8419’;

(6)

footnote 10 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8617

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8618

From 1.7 to 30.6: for India: 09.8425, for Indonesia: 09.8426, for Korea, Republic of: 09.8427 and for Türkiye: 09.8418’;

(7)

footnote 15 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8627

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8628

From 1.7 to 30.6: for Algeria: 09.8428, for Egypt: 09.8429 and for China: 09.8417’;

(8)

footnote 16 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8629

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8630

From 1.7 to 30.6: for China: 09.8436, for Taiwan: 09.8437 and for United States: 09.8415’;

(9)

footnote 18 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8633

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8634

From 1.7 to 30.6: For Malaysia: 09.8460, for Algeria: 09.8461, for Egypt: 09.8462, for Bosnia and Herzegovina: 09.8463, for Korea, Republic of: 09.8464, for Japan: 09.8466, for Indonesia: 09.8465, for Serbia: 09.8467 and for Vietnam: 09.8468’;

(10)

footnote 19 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8635

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8636

From 1.7 to 30.6: for China: 09.8448, for Switzerland: 09.8469 and for United Arab Emirates: 09.8409’;

(11)

footnote 23 in Annex IV.1 is replaced by the following:

‘From 1.7 to 31.3: 09.8643

From 1.4 to 30.6: 09.8644

From 1.7 to 30.6: for China: 09.8442, for Serbia: 09.8443 and for Bosnia and Herzegovina: 09.8449’;

(12)

Table IV.1 with the title ‘Volumes of tariff–rate quotas’ concerning product category 17 in Annex IV of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 is replaced by the table in Annex I to this Implementing Regulation;

(13)

Table IV.2 with the title ‘Volumes of global and residual tariff–rate quotas per trimester’ concerning product category 17 of Annex IV of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 is replaced by the table in Annex II to this Implementing Regulation;

(14)

Table IV.3 with the title ‘Maximum volume of residual quota accessible in last quarters to countries with a country specific quota’ concerning product category 17 of Annex IV of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 is replaced by the table in Annex III to this Implementing Regulation.