EU Begins Adjustment of Steel Safeguards to Avoid Double Counting AD/CV Duties

The European Union published a notice Sept. 3 announcing changes to its safeguards on steel products meant to avoid double counting for goods also subject to antidumping and countervailing duties. For any goods subject to the three-year tariff-rate quotas on steel that become subject to the 25 percent out-of-quota rate, no AD/CV duties will be collected if the applicable total of AD and CV duty rates does not exceed 25 percent. AD/CV duties will only be collected if they exceed 25 percent total, and by the amount at which they exceed 25 percent, the notice says.

Annex 2 to the notice lays out the AD and CV duty rates applicable to each exporter after the adjustment. Only a 25 percent total adjustment applies, and AD and CV duty rates are not adjusted individually. For example, an exporter assigned a 10 percent AD duty rate and a 20 percent CV duty rate will not be subject to AD duties on imports subject to the 25 percent safeguard rate, but will still be subject to a 5 percent CV duty rate.

The EU had proposed the policy in April (see 1904260050). After considering comments, it still says the adjustments are necessary because the safeguards otherwise would “have an effect greater than that intended or desirable in terms of the Union's trade defence policy and objectives,” it said in the notice.

The changes take effect Sept. 3, and will not have any retroactive effect, the notice says. The adjustments will only apply while the 25 percent safeguard tariff is in effect for each exporter, it said. “For the avoidance of doubt, once the above-quota safeguard tariff duty ceases to apply, the suspended collection of the respective anti-dumping/anti-subsidy measure ceases with immediate effect. From that point in time, collection of the applicable anti-dumping/anti-subsidy measures apply as usual.: