Judgment of the General Court First Chamber of 4 October 2023, Euranimi v Commission, T-598/21

• Date: 04 October 2023
• Year: 2023

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methyl solely on the tests and studies which the regulations required the applicant for renewal to

submit, they also took account of all the relevant scientific literature available.

V. COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY

1. SAFEGUARD MEASURES

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 4 October 2023, Euranimi v Commission,

T-598/21

Link to the full text of the judgment

Safeguard measures – Steel products market – Import of certain steel products – Implementing

Regulation (EU) 2021/1029 – Action for annulment – Interest in bringing proceedings – Locus standi –

Admissibility – Prolongation of a safeguard measure – Necessity – Threat of serious injury – Adjustment

measures – European Union interest – Manifest error of assessment

In the context of the European Union’s commercial defence policy, the European Commission made

imports of certain steel products originating in various third countries (‘the product concerned’)

subject to prior monitoring. In the light of the statistical data collected on that basis, it initiated a

safeguard investigation, at the end of which it concluded that there was a threat of serious injury to

the EU steel industry in most of the product categories concerned. Consequently, it imposed,

successively, a provisional safeguard measure against imports of the steel products in question,

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and then a definitive safeguard measure,

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in the form of tariff quotas specific to category.

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The

safeguard mechanism thus established consists of two stages, the first consisting of the imposition of

tariff quotas which are fixed at levels designed to enable normal trade flows to be preserved by

product category, the second consisting of the application of an additional duty to imports, at the rate

of 25%, where the quantitative thresholds fixed for those tariff quotas are exceeded (‘the above-quota

tariff’).

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On 24 June 2021, by Regulation 2021/1029,

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the Commission prolonged that measure for a

period of three years until 30 June 2024 (‘the contested regulation’).

The applicant, the European Association of Non-Integrated Metal Importers & Distributors (Euranimi),

an association of EU companies representing the interests of importers, distributors, traders and

processors dealing with non-integrated steel, stainless steel and metal products, brought an action

seeking annulment of the contested regulation.

The General Court, while declaring that action admissible, dismisses it on its merits. In its judgment, it

provides, inter alia, clarification of the conditions required in order to establish both an interest in

bringing proceedings and the standing to bring proceedings of an association representing the

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Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1013 of 17 July 2018 imposing provisional safeguard measures with regard to imports of

certain steel products (OJ 2018 L 181, p. 39).

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Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2019/159 of 31 January 2019 imposing definitive safeguard measures against imports of

certain steel products (OJ 2019 L 31, p. 27).

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Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 established a country-specific tariff quota for countries with significant interest as suppliers and a

‘residual’ tariff quota for the other countries exporting to the European Union.

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Regulation (EU) 2019/159, recitals 164 to180.

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Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1029 of 24 June 2021 amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159 to

prolong the safeguard measure on imports of certain steel products (OJ 2021 L 225 I, p. 1).