The European Union’s new steel trade protection measures entered into force on 1 July 2026, replacing the previous steel safeguard regime with a revised tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system aimed at addressing persistent global steel overcapacity.
The European Commission published the implementing regulation allocating tariff-free import quotas among the EU’s trading partners. Under the new regime, annual tariff-free quotas are set at 18.3 mln tons across 26 steel product categories, while imports exceeding the allocated quotas will be subject to a 50pct duty.
The quota allocation follows criteria established under the EU Steel Regulation and is intended to maintain predictable market access for third-country suppliers while ensuring a diversified supply for downstream steel users.
To minimize the impact on preferential trading partners, 50pct of the annual tariff-free quota has been reserved for countries with Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the EU. The remaining quota is available to all exporting countries, including FTA partners. According to the Commission, around 80pct of EU steel imports originate from FTA partners, which will retain a significantly larger share of market access than the average 47pct quota reduction introduced under the new system.
The regulation also introduces a melt and pour traceability requirement, requiring importers to declare the country where steel was originally melted and poured, with the aim of improving transparency across the EU steel supply chain.
The Commission said the measures are designed to protect the EU steel industry from the effects of global overcapacity while allowing European producers time to invest in lower-carbon and more advanced steelmaking technologies.
The implementing regulation has been adopted under the EU’s urgency procedure and will initially remain in force for up to six months, after which it will be submitted for approval under the standard comitology procedure before the end of 2026.