Breakthrough in protecting the EU steel market

After three years of negotiations, the countries of the European Union agreed to strengthen market protection mechanisms. One of the main problems was the question of eliminating the minimum duty rule, which means that even in the case of the introduction of duties, they have the lowest possible height. As an example, steel products are cited, which, in the European Union, are subject to customs duties at a rate of 21 percent, and in the United States, they reach 266 percent.

The proposal by Slovakia, currently holding the EU presidency, is to suspend the minimum duty rule in cases justified, for example, by a policy of government intervention in raw material or energy prices.

The trade-off is that "higher duties can be imposed if there are distortions in the prices of raw materials and energy, which account for more than 27 percent of total steel production costs." It was also decided to shorten the duration of anti-dumping investigations and the possibility of initiating them even without a formal request from the industry.

This approach will strengthen the protection of the EU market, among other things, cheap steel from China. This is an important step towards durable solutions that will help EU producers fight unfair competition. Among the countries opposed to legislative changes was the United Kingdom, but in a minority. British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was disappointed with the EU countries' decision.