New, fourth-quarter safeguard import quotas became available for the EU market from 1 October, and Indian hot rolled coil volumes awaiting clearance at European ports have already exceeded available quotas. Other product categories are also expected to fill up rapidly.

Indian HRC imports in Q4 had a tax-free allocation of just below 170,000 tonnes. As of Monday, Indian HRC volumes awaiting clearance at European docks were already over 180,000t.

Imported Indian HRC volumes also surpassed available third-quarter quotas in July. This resulted in a portion of the 25% duty being imposed on importers who cleared their volumes above the quota limit on the first day of the quota.

Meanwhile, Turkish HRC imports could also soon come under the spotlight as, currently, over 160,000t of product is awaiting clearance at EU docks, while some 330,000t of quotas are available for Q4. In Q3, the Turkish HRC import quota was not fully filled, Kallanish notes.

Finally, for Russian HRC imports, the pressure seems to have subsided for now. Quotas available for the current quarter are over 400,000t, while only some 86,000t of volumes are awaiting clearance at docks. However, Russia’s Q3 quota was exhausted only at the beginning of September, suggesting more tonnage will arrive from there later in the current quarter.