Today’s update to the EU’s Common Customs Tariff continued the major regulatory push on steel seen all week, with the publication of new 0% tariff rate quotas for South African iron and steel products. These measures, part of the same package rolled out for other countries in recent days, were made effective retroactively to yesterday. Separately, a raft of previously scheduled entry price updates for fruits and vegetables—including citrus, garlic, and peppers—came into force today.
The themes
For the third consecutive day, regulatory activity was dominated by the administrative rollout of a single major steel regulation. Today’s update added South Africa to the list of countries receiving new tariff quotas, with all measures again being published retroactively. This intense focus on steel was complemented by the activation of routine agricultural price updates.
Headline items
Continuing the work seen on Wednesday and Thursday, regulators today published 13 new tariff quotas for iron and steel products originating in South Africa. The measures, implemented under Regulation R1457/26, establish a 0% duty for in-quota imports of various flat-rolled stainless steel products (Chapter 72). Like the quotas for Türkiye and Ukraine published yesterday, these were back-dated, taking effect on 27 August.
Coming into force
A different set of measures became active today, impacting importers of fresh produce. A series of routine entry price updates took effect for a wide range of fruits and vegetables from all origins. The changes affect goods including onions, garlic, beans, sweet peppers, avocados, and various citrus fruits under Regulation R2447/15.
What to watch
The systematic, country-by-country rollout of steel quotas under Regulation R1457/26 has been the clear regulatory priority this week. While this concludes, the large volume of future-dated certificate requirements for the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, flagged in previous briefings, remains the next significant compliance event on the horizon.