Introductory text
United Kingdom
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1712
of 13 November 2018
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013 imposing provisional safeguard measures with regard to imports of certain steel products
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/478 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015f1, and in particular Articles 5 and 7 thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/755 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015f2, and in particular Articles 3 and 4 thereof,
Whereas:
I.
BACKGROUND
(1)
On 18 July 2018, by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013f3 the Commission imposed provisional safeguard measures on imports of certain steel products. South Africa was covered by the scope of those measures.
(2)
However, pursuant to Article 33 of the Economic Partnership Agreement (‘EPA’) between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Southern African Development Community (‘SADC’) states, of the other partf4, SADC EPA States should be excluded from the scope of safeguard measures taken by the EU pursuant to the WTO Agreement on Safeguards.
(3)
Currently, from the SADC EPA States, only South Africa is subject to the provisional steel safeguard measures, on two categories of product, i.e. stainless hot rolled sheets and strips (product category 8) and stainless cold rolled sheets and strips (product category 9).
(4)
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013 should therefore be amended in order to remove South Africa from the scope of the provisional measures on these two product categories.
II.
INCREASE IN IMPORTS
(5)
As shown in the tables below, the exclusion of South Africa from scope of the provisional measures does not change the overall trends of imports for the two product categories concerned, which still shows a significant increase of imports.
| product category 8 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total imports (tonnes) | 175 816 | 233 028 | 269 697 | 351 075 | 436 173 |
| index (2013 = 100) | 100 | 133 | 153 | 200 | 248 |
| Excluding South Africa | 157 289 | 214 041 | 246 965 | 325 272 | 407 050 |
| index (2013 = 100) | 100 | 136 | 157 | 207 | 259 |
| product category 9 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total imports (tonnes) | 697 457 | 1 017 613 | 787 521 | 843 352 | 976 108 |
| index (2013 = 100) | 100 | 146 | 113 | 121 | 140 |
| Excluding South Africa | 645 259 | 954 614 | 697 537 | 751 259 | 869 549 |
| index (2013 = 100) | 100 | 148 | 108 | 116 | 135 |
(6)
From a general point of view, the exclusion of South Africa does also not change the development of imports overall given its small share of less than 0,5 % of the total imports during the period 2013-2017. For the same reason, imports from South Africa do not alter the conclusions of recital (81) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013 concerning the impact of other factors on the situation of the Union industry.
III.
LEVEL OF PROVISIONAL MEASURES
(7)
South Africa should be excluded from the scope of the provisional safeguard measures for product categories 8 and 9, and the level of the quota should be adjusted for product categories 8 and 9 accordingly. Imports from South Africa that took place since the entry into force of the provisional safeguard measures should be retroactively excluded for the calculation of the free of duty quota for the remainder of the validity of the provisional measures.
(8)
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,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Annotations
Footnotes
- f1
- f2
- f3
-
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013 of 17 July 2018 imposing provisional safeguard measures with regard to imports of certain steel products (OJ L 181, 18.7.2018, p. 39).
- f4