Posted on 08 Oct 2025
The European Commission has proposed a measure to replace existing steel safeguards, which will cut EU tariff-free steel imports by 47% to 18.3 million tonnes/year and double the out-of-quota duty to 50%. It will also require importers to prove the country of “melt and pour” of the steel used in production.
The announcement on Tuesday afternoon confirms the rumours and draft document circulating the market last week (see Kallanish passim).
The proposal still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and Council before it can be enacted into law. It is not yet clear when this will happen. However, the majority of responses to the Commission’s targeted consultation on this measure indicated it should be implemented from the first quarter of 2026, in advance of the 30 June 2026 expiry of the steel safeguards.
Product category 1A hot rolled sheet and strip will be given the largest annual quota of 5.199 million tonnes, followed by category 4A metallic coated sheet with 1.62mt and category 16 wire rod with 1.57mt. Other notable product quotas are category 2 cold rolled sheet with 1.54mt, category 4B metallic coated sheet with 1.24mt and category 7 plate with 1.197mt.
The Commission says it will engage with trading partners to offer them country specific allocations.
The tariff quotas will be administered quarterly. The drawings on each quarterly quota will be stopped on the 20th working day of the Commission following the end of the quarterly period. Unused tariff quota volumes will not be carried over to the next quarter.
At the moment of importation, importers will provide appropriate evidence, such as a mill certificate, to prove the country of “melt and pour” of the steel used in the production of the product. The country of “melt and pour” will be the original location in which raw steel and iron is initially produced in liquid form within a steelmaking or iron making furnace and subsequently cast into its first solid state.
Within two years of the regulation’s adoption, the Commission will assess whether the product scope needs amending. This assessment will be conducted periodically every two years after the first review.
Before 1 July 2031, and every five years thereafter, the Commission will evaluate the effectiveness of the regulation, based on which it may submit a legislative proposal to amend or repeal the measure.
The Commission says it invites like-minded countries to work together with a view to ring-fencing their economies from global overcapacity while securing supply chains and increasing mutual market access.
“By protecting our market from unfair global competition, we are building a path for a sovereign decarbonized European steel. This proposal is the first step for our industry to regain competitiveness,” says European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné.
“We now have to focus our efforts on the other parts of the action plan: CBAM reform, Clean Industrial Deal and demand measures. That is why I call on the co-legislators for an urgent and swift adoption of the proposal so our industry can invest, grow, and innovate,” he adds.
European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič notes: “These measures are WTO-compatible, clearly allowed under existing rules. Unlike others, the EU continues to be open and will transparently engage with partners under GATT Article XXVIII, offering compensation.”
“We remain committed to a rules-based trade system and our global network of Free Trade Agreements, including with key steel-producing countries. But we must also act decisively to defend Europe's interests,” he concludes.
Source:Kallanish
