The European Union, South Korea, and India will take restrictive measures on steel imports

01 The European Union announced an action plan to protect the steel industry
　　On March 19, local time, the European Commission announced measures to maintain and expand the industrial capacity of the European steel and metals industry. The Commission stated that this action plan supports the industry in addressing current challenges in the short to medium term. The action plan includes ensuring energy supply, preventing carbon leakage, and protecting high-quality industrial jobs. The European Commission will also propose a long-term solution this year to replace the steel safeguard measures that expire next year—a quota system. Additionally, the Commission will explore whether to implement similar protection measures for the aluminum industry. On the same day, the European Commissioner for Industry Strategy, Thierry Breton, announced that the EU plans to further reduce steel imports by 15% from April.

02 South Korea to take measures to prevent circumvention of anti-dumping duties on steel imports
　　On March 19, the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy stated that in response to trade barriers and unfair imports leading to a crisis in the steel industry, South Korea will take measures to prevent the circumvention of anti-dumping duties on imported steel products, thereby protecting the local steel industry. To prevent the circumvention of anti-dumping duties on steel and aluminum, the South Korean government plans to revise customs regulations, allowing the Korea Trade Commission to investigate traders who use third countries for transshipment to evade anti-dumping duties.

03 India proposes to impose a 12% temporary tariff on imported steel
　　On March 18, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced that it recommends imposing a 12% temporary "safeguard" tariff on a variety of steel products. The statement indicates that the temporary steel tariff will come into effect when imported steel products threaten the Indian domestic steel industry or cause permanent damage. According to the preliminary decision of the Indian trade authorities, the Indian government will impose tariffs on imported steel products, which are expected to be implemented for 200 days. The final tariff decision will be made after 30 days of consultations and public hearings. India is the world's second-largest steel producer and had been hoping to negotiate tariff reductions with the United States. The Indian government's move is likely due to a pessimistic outlook on US tariff exemptions, which will undoubtedly exacerbate the chaos in the global steel market.