The European Non-Integrated Wire Rod Processors Association (“Eunirpa”) has called for urgent action by policymakers to support the repeal of the safeguard measures imposed on wire rod.

At the very least it says it wants authorities to “…adjust significantly upwards the level of the current quotas.”

The ever-increasing lack of wire rod available on the free market in the EU is reluctantly forcing the association companies to source well over 50% of their needs from non-EU countries, Eunirpa tells Kallanish.

“When definitive safeguard measures were imposed, the uniqueness of the wire rod market was absolutely not taken into consideration,” the association argues. There is a well-documented shortage of wire rod on the EU market due to an increase in consumption and captive use, it adds.

At a minimum, the quota for product category 16 should represent the yearly average of the volume of imports of wire rod in 2016-2018, rather than 2015-2017, which increased by 20%, rather than 5%, Eunirpa proposes.

“This adjustment in the level of the quotas is a fair balance between the interests of the EU steel industry and the interests of the EU independent wire rod processors,” it states.