G/SG/N/6/EU/1/Suppl.2  
 
26 February 2021  
(21-1695) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Safeguards  Original: English  
 
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE  12.1(A) OF THE AGREEMENT ON  
SAFEGUARDS ON INITIATION OF AN INVESTIGATION AND  
THE REASON FOR IT  
EUROPEAN UNION 
Certain steel products  
Supplement  
The following communication, dated and received 26 February 2021 , is being circul ated at the 
request of the delegation of the European Union* 
 
_______________  
 
 
Pursuant to Article 12.1 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards ('Safeguards Agreement'), the 
European  Union notifies that it has initiated a review investigation t o assess whether the safeguard 
measure applicable to imports of certain steel products should be prolonged.  
1. Specify the date when the review investigation was initiated  
On 26 February 2021, the European Commission ('the Commission') initiated an investigation to 
assess whether the safeguard measure on certain steel products currently in place should be 
prolonged beyond 30 June 2021 ('the review investigation').  
A copy of the Notice of Initiation of the review investigation, which also includes the  applicable rules 
of procedure, is attached. It has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union . 
The Commission shall take the necessary decisions before the current expiry date of the measure, 
i.e. 30 June 2021.  
2. Specify the product sub ject to the review investigation  
The product subject to the review investigation is 'certain steel products' ('the product concerned'). 
The product concerned, together with the CN codes within which it is currently classified, are listed 
in the Annex of the attached Notice Initiation. Those CN codes are given for information purposes 
only. 
3. Provide the reasons for the initiation of the review investigation  
On 14 January 2021, the Commission received a substantiated request from some EU Member States 
requesting it to initiate an investigation to determine whether prolongation of the safeguard measure 
was justified.  
 
* A copy of the Notice of Initiation of the review investigation  has been submitted electronically. To 
consult this document please contact Ms. Richards ( anne.richards@wto.org ) or Ms. Naville 
(delphine.naville@wto.org ) of the R ules Division.  G/SG/N/6/EU/1/Suppl.2  
 
- 2 - 
 
  The request contained evidence suggesting that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary 
to prevent or remedy serious injury and that Un ion producers are adjusting. In particular, the request 
contained information regarding negative performance of certain key injury indicators and the 
existence of continuous significant import pressure from third countries. The request further 
provided ele ments pointing to the fact that global overcapacity remains at a very high level, that a 
large number of trade restrictive measures and trade defence measures by third countries continue 
being adopted. Hence the request argued that the risk of trade divers ion continues and that if the 
measure was lifted, the Union industry would face a flood of imports that would have a very negative 
impact on its economic performance. Moreover, the request included examples pertaining to 
adjustments undertaken by the Union  producers. The Commission considered that the information 
provided, including the sources and supporting evidence, constituted sufficient basis to initiate an 
investigation.  
4. Provide a point of contact for the investigation and identify the preferred me ans for 
corresponding  
Commission address for correspondence:  
European Commission  
Directorate -General for Trade  
Directorate G, unit G5  
Office: CHAR 03/66  
1049 Brussels  
BELGIUM  
TRON.tdi:  https://webgate.e c.europa.eu/tron/tdi  
E-mail address:  TRADE -SAFE009 -REVIEW@ec.europa.eu  
Enrique.arrieta@ec.europa.eu  
5. Provide the deadlines and procedures for imp orters, exporters and other interested 
parties to present evidence and their views, including (i)  deadlines and procedures for 
Members and exporters to identify themselves as interested parties, if so required, to 
participate in the investigation, and (ii)  the date of an intended public hearing as provided 
for in Article 3.1  
In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its review investigation, the Commission 
will send questionnaires to the known producers of the product concerned in the Union.  The 
completed questionnaires must reach the Commission within 21 days from the date on which they 
are sent.  
All interested parties including exporting producers, importers and users of the products concerned 
and their associations, as well as third countr y governments are invited to make known their views 
in writing, submit information and to provide supporting evidence. They should be submitted within 
15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.  
Parties making a submission are requested to clearly state in their correspondence which of the 
below issue(s) is (are) concerned by their submission, and make their arguments under the following 
headings:  
a) Whether the measure continues to be necessary, and why;  
b) Union interest considerations;  
c) Other  
To guarantee the rights of defence, interested parties should have the possibility to comment on the 
information submitted by other interested parties. When doing so, interested parties may onl y 
address the issues raised in the other interested parties' submissions and may not raise new issues. 
In a rebuttal, interested parties should indicate specifically which party( -ies) comments they are 
rebutting, and follow the same above -mentioned heading s structure.  G/SG/N/6/EU/1/Suppl.2  
 
- 3 - 
 
  Such comments must reach the Commission within 10 days from the moment the submissions as 
well as questionnaire replies from Union producers are made available for inspection by interested 
parties in the open file for the case.  
For the sake of  efficiency, the Commission will automatically extend the status of interested party 
to all stakeholders that hold such status under the current safeguard measure. However, this 
provision will not apply to Powers of Attorney ('PoA').  
Parties wishing to par ticipate in the proceeding and which are currently not registered as interested 
parties to the case are invited to explain their interest and links with the case when making a 
submission via TRON.  
All interested parties may request to be heard by the Commi ssion investigation services. Any request 
to be heard must be made in writing within 15 days from the publication of this Notice in the 
Official  Journal, and must specify the reasons for the request, as well as a summary of what the 
interested party wishes  to discuss at the hearing.  
Interested parties are informed, however, that given the need to complete the investigation and 
make a determination by 30 June 2021 at the latest, the likely high number of interested parties 
and the fact that these interested parties will be given the possibility to comment on other parties' 
submissions, which will ensure sufficient opportunities to defend and make their views known, the 
Commission intends to carry out the investigation in written form, without organising oral hearings 
unless interested parties can show that there is a special need to be heard in oral form. Any 
submission of views and information after the above deadlines may be disregarded.  
All written submissions in the investigation should be filed with the C ommission as set out in the 
Notice of Initiation.  
 
__________