NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 12
OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS
NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 9.1, FOOTNOTE 2
OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS
United Kingdom
Certain steel products
Supplement
The
following communication, dated and received on 9 August 2024, is being
circulated at the request of the delegation of the United Kingdom.
_______________
Pursuant to Article 12 of the WTO
Agreement on Safeguards, the United Kingdom notifies that its competent
authority, the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), proposes changes to the tariff
rate quota (TRQ) applying to imports of product category 1, non‑alloy and other
alloy hot‑rolled sheet and strip, under the safeguard measure on certain steel
products.
By way of background, on 9 February 2024,
the TRA initiated a TRQ review following applications from industry which
indicated a change in circumstances and market conditions, as set out in
document _G/SG/N/10/GBR/1/Suppl.15.
On 9 August 2024, the TRA published
its Statement of Intended Final Determination (SIFD), in which it has proposed adjusting
the quota amount and allocations. This is open to comment from interested
parties until 19 August 2024. See procedures section below. The UK also
welcomes further discussions with Members on this matter.
More details on the TRQ review,
including the TRA's SIFD[1], can
be found on the Trade Remedies Service platform at: https://www.trade‑remedies.service.gov.uk/public/case/TQ0052/#public‑file.
The suspension review of category 1 also announced
on 9 February 2024 and notified in document _G/SG/N/10/GBR/1/Suppl.15 is ongoing separately. Details of this review can
be found on the Trade Remedies Service platform at: https://www.trade‑remedies.service.gov.uk/public/case/SS0051/#public‑file.
1._
Provide the
precise description of the product(s) involved
The goods subject to
this TRQ review are:
Product Number
|
Product Category
|
Commodity Codes
|
1
|
Non‑alloy
and other alloy hot‑rolled sheets and strips
|
72081000, 72082500,
72082600, 72082700, 72083600, 72083700, 72083800, 72083900, 72084000,
72085210, 72085299, 72085310, 72085390, 72085400, 72111300, 72111400,
72111900, 72126000, 72251910, 72253010, 72253030, 72253090, 72254015,
72254090, 72261910, 72269120, 72269191, 72269199
|
2._
Provide precise description of the proposed adjustments
The TRA has established that there has
been a change in circumstances relevant to the application of the safeguard TRQ
with respect to category 1 as a result of changes at Tata Steel UK's site in
Port Talbot. The TRA found evidence that there has been a change in demand
for the import of category 1 steel used for downstream processing for
other product categories covered by the safeguard measure. The TRA found that the
quota, specifically the residual quota, has been repeatedly exhausted across
four consecutive quarters, which has had an adverse impact on UK importers,
stockists and distributors.
The TRA has therefore proposed to recommend
two options to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade:
·_
Duplicating the existing category
1 quotas to form categories 1A and 1B, varying the quota allocation for
category 1B to create a global quota for downstream processing with a cap on
exports from any single country of between 37 and 42%, and increasing the quota
amount for category 1B by 89%. This is the TRA's preferred option. The category
1A quotas would maintain existing amounts and allocations.
·_
Duplicating the existing
category 1 quotas exactly as outlined above, but without a cap on exports from
any single country.
The proposed quota allocations can be
found in the Annex.
For further information on the change
in circumstances, please consult Section C: Assessment in the TRA's
SIFD.
3._
Provide proposed date or actual date of introduction of
the adjustments
Subject to further comments and
evidence from interested parties, the TRA's recommendation to the Secretary of
State and the Secretary of State's decision, the proposed changes to the TRQ would
take effect on 1 October 2024 (at the start of quarter 2 of the UK's
steel safeguard).
4._
Procedures relevant to the review
Members are invited to submit comments
in response to the SIFD by 23:59 BST on 19 August 2024. Submissions
must be made via the Trade Remedies Service and must be accompanied by a non‑confidential
version or summary for the public file.
Please direct correspondence to TQ0052@traderemedies.gov.uk.
The TRA will take
account of further submissions and may change its position accordingly in
making their final recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business and
Trade. An indicative timeline is available on the Trade Remedies Service
platform at: https://www.trade‑remedies.service.gov.uk/public/case/TQ0052/#public‑file
The UK also welcomes
bilateral engagement with Members on the matter. We invite interested Members
to reach out to the UK Mission in the first instance.
Annex:
Quota amount and allocation for 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025:
Quarter 1:
1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024
Quarter 2:
1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024
Quarter 3:
1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025
Quarter 4: 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025
Quota amount and allocation for 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026:
Quarter 1:
1 July 2025 to 30 September 2025
Quarter 2:
1 October 2025 to 31 December 2025
Quarter 3:
1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026
Quarter 4: 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026
Current Category 1
Quota:
Table 1: Quota
amount and allocation for 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025:
Country
|
Q1 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q2 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q3 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q4 quota
(in tonnes)
|
EU
|
187,484
|
187,484
|
183,409
|
185,446
|
Türkiye
|
24,616
|
24,616
|
24,081
|
24,349
|
Chinese Taipei
|
13,704
|
13,704
|
13,407
|
13,556
|
Residual
|
23,587
|
23,587
|
23,074
|
23,331
|
Total
|
249,391
|
249,391
|
243,971
|
246,682
|
Table 2: Quota amount and allocation for 1 July 2025
to 30 June 2026:
Country
|
Q1 quota (in tonnes)
|
Q2 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q3 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q4 quota
(in tonnes)
|
EU
|
193,109
|
193,109
|
188,911
|
191,010
|
Türkiye
|
25,355
|
25,355
|
24,804
|
25,079
|
Chinese Taipei
|
14,116
|
14,116
|
13,809
|
13,962
|
Residual
|
24,295
|
24,295
|
23,766
|
24,030
|
Total
|
256,875
|
256,875
|
251,290
|
254,081
|
Proposed Category 1A
Table 3: Quota
amount and allocation for 1 October 2024 – 30 June 2026:
Country
|
Q2 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q3 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q4 quota
(in tonnes)
|
EU
|
187,484
|
183,409
|
185,446
|
Türkiye
|
24,616
|
24,081
|
24,349
|
Chinese Taipei
|
13,704
|
13,407
|
13,556
|
Residual
|
23,587
|
23,074
|
23,331
|
Total
|
249,391
|
243,971
|
246,682
|
Table 4: Quota amount and allocation for 1 July 2025
– 30 June 2026:
Country
|
Q1 quota (in tonnes)
|
Q2 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q3 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q4 quota
(in tonnes)
|
EU
|
193,109
|
193,109
|
188,911
|
191,010
|
Türkiye
|
25,355
|
25,355
|
24,804
|
25,079
|
Chinese Taipei
|
14,116
|
14,116
|
13,809
|
13,962
|
Residual
|
24,295
|
24,295
|
23,766
|
24,030
|
Total
|
256,875
|
256,875
|
251,290
|
254,081
|
Proposed Category
1B
Table 5: Quota
amount and allocation for 1 October 2024 – 30 June 2025:
Country
|
Q2 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q3 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q4 quota
(in tonnes)
|
|
Total
|
471,349
|
461,105
|
466,229
|
37 ‑ 42% cap
|
174,399 – 197,967
|
170,609 – 193,664
|
172,505 – 195,816
|
Table 6: Quota amount and allocation for 1 July 2025
– 30 June 2026:
Country
|
Q1 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q2 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q3 quota
(in tonnes)
|
Q4 quota
(in tonnes)
|
|
Total
|
485,494
|
485,494
|
474,938
|
480,213
|
37 ‑ 42% cap
|
179,633 – 203,907
|
179,633 – 203,907
|
175,727 – 199,474
|
177,679 – 201,689
|
__________
[1] The
TRA's Statement of Intended Final Determination is also available from the WTO
Secretariat. To consult it, please contact Ms Anne Richards of the
Rules Division (anne.richards@wto.org).