The Italian government has introduced a new procedure to allow for more efficient use of EU safeguards on steel imports, potentially avoiding quota exhaustion and reducing the need for importers to pay additional duties.
The new mechanism allows importers to partially clear cargoes or withdraw from the customs clearance process if they are likely to exceed the current EU quota. This move follows numerous requests from trade associations and aims to provide greater flexibility for buyers of imported steel.
The new procedure came into effect on April 1 and currently only applies in Italy, but it may be extended across the EU in the future. Italy is one of the largest steel importers in the world, with 6.5 million tonnes of steel imported from outside the EU in 2023.
The new procedure is expected to be particularly useful towards the end of any quota period, when allowances are close to being filled and when clearing import bookings becomes increasingly risky.
