EU steel product quota shrinks, impacting exports; Ministry of Economic Affairs cancels controls on welded steel pipes exported to Europe

The Trade Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced today (10th) that it has canceled the export quota management measures for the 26th category of steel products (welded steel pipes) exported to the EU, and simultaneously deleted the requirements for free trade port zone enterprises to obtain prior approval for exporting to the EU, and the requirement to inspect additional workmanship certificates for foreign-origin steel products exported to the EU. A total of 21 product numbers are involved, hoping to reduce the export burden of the industry and help manufacturers adapt to the EU steel tariff quota system.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs explained that in order to assist domestic manufacturers in responding to the EU's implementation of tariff quotas on imported steel products, export management measures have been implemented for nine types of steel products exported to the EU since July 24 this year, including the requirement to obtain a certificate of origin issued by the Iron and Steel Association before product export release, free trade port area enterprises must be approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs when exporting to the EU, and foreign-origin steel products exported to the EU must apply for a processing certificate from the Iron and Steel Association.

However, some Class 26 steel product manufacturers have recently reported that my country’s quota for EU Class 26 steel products has been reduced compared with previous years. Some manufacturers have exported more than the actual quota before the export management measures were implemented, resulting in difficulties in subsequent exports. After the Trade Department invited industry players to discuss, the industry participants unanimously agreed to cancel the export control measures for Class 26 steel products to the EU.

The Trade Department stated that taking into account the actual operation of the EU tariff quota system and the export needs of domestic steel companies, it has decided to delete the export quota management regulations for a total of 21 product numbers of Class 26 steel products to the EU. At the same time, it has canceled the requirement for free trade port zone enterprises to obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Economic Affairs when exporting to the EU, and the requirement that foreign-origin steel products exported to the EU must be accompanied by a processing certificate issued by the Iron and Steel Association.

In addition, the Trade Department also found that 16 product numbers were duplicated in the attached tables of the original announcement of "Goods that should be approved for export by free trade port enterprises to foreign countries" and "Steel products of foreign origin that should be inspected and inspected for export to the EU", so they were revised together. Together with the 21 item numbers deleted this time, the actual number of items under management after the revision is 426.