Steel industry protection to be tightened, March 8

From March 8, the Economy Ministry plans to introduce more restrictive protective measures in the steel industry, which may provoke protests both from importers and the European Commission. Meanwhile, the issue of pr otection is crucial for Polskie Huty Stali (PHS). Saturday marks a 200 day period since the government implemented temporary protective measures on the steel market and work is under way to introduce the so-called final in struments. It is known that they will be more stringent as domestic mills are complaining that duty-free quotas for importers are "too generous". "Whether we introduce smaller quotas, or raise duties would be like telling fortunes from cards. We are still holding talks with the EC, which is observing us with an air of suspicion. In the worst case scenario, the issue of customs duties will be delegated by the EC to be examined by the World Trade Organization. However, we hope that within a few days we will conclude the negotiations positively," said Wieslaw Karsz, chief negotiator in the matter. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) A.C.