As part of the extension of the sanctions legislation against Russia, new obligations have been introduced as of September 30, 2023. Importers of (products of) iron and steel may now only import such products from third countries if they do not contain Russian basic products. Article 3g(1)(d) of the Council Regulation 833/2014 prohibits the import or purchase into the Union of products processed in a third country using raw materials originating in Russia.
The measure covers imports of products from headings 7206-7229 in Chapter 72 and Chapter 73 in full (i.e. headings 7301 to 7326).
With these additional measures, the EU aims to prevent the stimulation of the economy in Russia by trade in products of iron and steel containing Russian raw materials.
The importer must be able to prove that Russian raw materials are not involved in the import of the steel and iron products. As an importer, you can prove this by including certain documents in your records. The Mill Test Certificate (MTC) is the most important of these. In the absence of the MTC, the importer has the possibility to use other documents to prove to the best of his ability that the product does not contain any Russian raw materials. For example, an explicit declaration from the third country producer or a production description. A certificate of origin alone, however, is insufficient.
What should be in the MTC?
The MTC must contain at least the following information:
For semi-finished products:
- the name of the facility where production took place
- the name of the country corresponding to the heat number (country of the melting pot)
- the CN number (6-digit code) of the product
For finished products
- the name of the country corresponding to the heat number (country of the melting pot)
- the CN number (6-digit code) of the product
- the name of the country and facility where the following processing or operations, if any, are performed: hot rolling, cold rolling, metallic coating by hot dipping, electrolytic metal coating, organic coating, welding, penetration/extrusion, drawing/piling and ERW/SAW/HFI/laser welding
Thus, merely having a certificate of origin of the goods is not sufficient.
The above measure will also be included in the code book from September 30, 2023. From then on, you will use certificate code Y824 in box 44 of the customs declaration. With this you declare as an importer that your iron and steel products comply with the imposed measures and that you can prove this by the documents in your administration.
Need advice?
Do you have questions about this new measure on the import of steel and iron products? Or do you have questions about other sanctions measures against Russia? Please feel free to contact one of our attorneys.