EU stainless steel cold-rolled quota usage is high, while epidemic may cause future import slowdown
The import of steel products has been subject to the safeguards of the European Commission since 2018. From July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, most of the quota for stainless steel hot-rolled flat products was available. However, for stainless steel cold-rolled product categories, most country-specific quotas except the US have been fully used by June 30, 2020.
Steel imported from the US was subject to a tariff of 25% below the quota level. Therefore, any material that exceeded this limit must pay a 50% tariff, which has prevented European buyers from buying materials from the US. The import volume of stainless steel bars and light profiles imported from India exceeded the quota of twelve months.
Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, imports were expected to slow down in the future. This summer, stainless steel demand will remain weak. Therefore, it was expected to reduce the quota from October 1 to December 31, 2020.
