Did you know that the European Union has recently implemented new restrictions around the import or purchase of iron and steel products that incorporate materials originating in Russia? Non-adherence to the new regulations could cause problems in all sorts of operational areas, so it’s worth ensuring your organisation is on the right side of the legislation.

The new EU restrictions relate to Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1904 of 6 October 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine:

More specifically, it will be forbidden « to import or purchase, as from 30 September 2023, directly or indirectly, iron and steel products as listed in Annex XVII when processed in a third country incorporating iron and steel products originating in Russia as listed in Annex XVII; with regard to products listed in Annex XVII processed in a third country incorporating steel products originating in Russia of CN code 7207 11 or 7207 12 10, this prohibition shall apply as of 1 April 2024 for CN code 7207 11 and as of 1 October 2024 for CN code 7207 12 10. »

So whatever partners you’re working with, product provenance and traceability are obviously key – it’s something we’ve always placed a huge amount of emphasis on. The good news is that after conducting an extensive audit of our own global supply chain, I’m very pleased to confirm that Nicofe is fully compliant with all elements of the new regulations.

So it’s business as usual – you know you can order from us with complete confidence. We have an official company statement verifying our compliance to these new EU regulations that’s available to customers for their own audit trail – please get in touch if you’d like a copy.

Talking of compliance, we’re being reassessed for our AS9120 certification at the end of November. The accreditation is an international standard that acknowledges commitment to best practices for quality and product traceability in the aerospace industry, as well as high levels of customer satisfaction. This means our customers can rely on a strong and agile global supply chain for rapid delivery of difficult-to-source metals, alloys and components. And they also know their products will be professionally certified with full traceability.

We’ll keep you updated on the accreditation process and let you know when customer certificates will need updating early in the new year. As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions around the issues discussed here or for information on other areas of the business.