The new rules provide for a 47% reduction in these volumes, to 18.3 million tons per year, and do not apply to the countries of the European Economic Area (EEC). Imports of 26 categories of steel products in excess of the quota will be subject to a duty of 50%.
Half of the quota is allocated to countries that have concluded free trade agreements (FTA) from the EU, the other half is valid for all trading partners, in particular, the FTA parties. During the first half, individual quotas will be in effect for partner countries with an average share of at least 5% in import volumes in 2022-2024 - they will be proportional to their historical volumes. It notes that it is taking new measures to protect the European steel industry in the face of global overcapacity and many countries closing their markets to imports, often with the help of customs.
