Posted on 06 Jul 2026
The European Union (EU) should ensure fair and equitable market access to Malaysian steelmakers under its newly enforced steel import regime, an industry body urged on Monday.
Malaysia is being penalised despite not contributing to import surges the measures are designed to tackle, the Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation said in a statement. While the EU has the right to safeguard against overcapacity, Malaysia was never a source of disruption, the federation noted.
"We have exported responsibly and in moderation,” said Roshan M Abdullah, president of the federation also known as Misif. “It is therefore of real concern that our producers now find themselves among the most disadvantaged.”
The statement comes on the heels of a new EU regime that took effect on July 1, under which annual tariff-free steel import quotas have been cut by 47% while imports exceeding the quotas are subject to a 50% duty across 26 categories of steel products, double the previous rate.
The EU said the measures are intended to protect its steel industry from persistent global overcapacity and dumping while increasing capacity utilisation within the bloc to 80%.
Under the new rules, half of the tariff-rate quotas are reserved exclusively for countries with free trade agreements (FTAs) with the EU while the remaining quotas are shared among all trading partners, with many receiving country-specific allocations based on historical export volumes.
"Malaysia has consistently advocated for fair, non-discriminatory and mutually beneficial trade," Roshan stressed.
Misif, which represents more than 150 companies in the heavy industry, said Malaysia has been granted a country-specific quota in only one of the 26 product categories, namely non-alloy and other alloy wire rod.
For all remaining categories, Malaysian exporters must compete in a shared residual quota pool on a first-come, first-served basis. Malaysia is excluded from the more favourable allocations reserved for FTA partners of the 27-member bloc.
Misif also questioned the EU's use of import data from 2022 to 2024 to determine quota allocations, noting that the period coincided with the recovery from Covid-19-related disruptions, resulting in export volumes that did not reflect the industry's usual production or long-term exports.
Beyond the EU, Misif highlighted that Malaysian steel exporters also continue to face tightening restrictions elsewhere, including the US Section 232 tariff and procedural market-access hurdles in Mexico despite the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"The iron and steel industry is a pillar of national economic security, sustaining hundreds of thousands of Malaysian jobs and a domestic supply chain built over decades,” Misif said. “Malaysia has long been a fair and dependable partner to the world and seeks only the same fairness in return.”
Source:The Edge
