"In the seamless pipe product category, an annual quota of 80,670 tonnes was allocated to Ukraine,” the company says in a statement.
“However, throughout the consultation process, Ukrainian authorities repeatedly informed the European Commission that this figure was based on erroneous data - a significant portion of Ukrainian exports to the EU in 2022–2024, as confirmed by Eurostat, was not fully reflected in the baseline calculations."
As a result, Ukraine's quota for this category is at least 30% lower than it would have been if correct data had been used, Kallanish notes.
According to Interpipe's own calculations, the implementing regulation does not fully provide preferential treatment for Ukraine, a candidate country for EU accession facing an exceptional security situation, as envisaged by the document adopted by the European Parliament in May.
“Specifically, when calculating the portion of quotas that apply to most-favoured-nation status, Ukraine was treated the same as major global exporters, including countries with documented excess non-market capacity. Similarly, the same methodology was applied to all other FTA partners, without the differentiation stipulated by the regulation,” the enterprise adds.
"Interpipe believes the current level of European steel quotas is a serious blow to Ukraine and the Ukrainian steel industry, which continues to operate in frontline regions under wartime conditions,” says Interpipe’s general director, Luca Zanotti.
“Furthermore, the distribution of these quotas does not take into account the significant social and economic consequences for thousands of workers, their families, and communities dependent on the Ukrainian steel industry.”
According to him, the purpose of the new trade measures is to address the issue of global non-market excess steel capacity, and in this regard, Ukraine is not part of this problem. "As CEO of Interpipe, a company suffering from war, I expect the European Commission to adjust the data in the seamless pipe category for Ukraine by the end of the third quarter of 2026, which is the only fair way to correct the errors that have been made," he adds.
In June, Interpipe already warned that the EU's introduction of a new trade barrier to curb steel imports would deal a significant blow to Ukraine's war-torn metallurgy industry.