Strasbourg: The EU steel measure has capped tariff-free steel imports at 18.3 million tonnes a year since 1 July 2026, with a 50 percent duty on anything above quota. Parliament backed the regulation by 606 votes to 16, with 39 abstentions, in May 2026, and the new regime replaced the old safeguard when it expired. Importers, mills and trading partners now work with a system that Brussels wants to review by mid-2027.
The Commission proposed the EU steel measure on 7 October 2025, and negotiators reached a provisional agreement on 13 April 2026. The exact legal quota is 18,345,922 tonnes, according to Eurometal. The measure covers 30 product categories, against 28 under the old safeguard, the Commission says in its press release on the agreement.
Under the EU steel measure, half of the quota, about 9.15 million tonnes, is reserved for partners with free trade agreements, while the other half is open to all suppliers on a most-favoured-nation basis. Partners that supplied at least 5 percent of EU imports in 2022 to 2024 receive country-specific quotas. Once a country exhausts its allocation, the 50 percent duty applies.
The EU steel measure also introduces a melt-and-pour rule that requires importers to show where steel was first melted and poured. The Commission says the requirement applies to all origins, including EEA countries, to improve traceability and transparency. Eurometal reports that the Commission must set implementing rules on acceptable evidence, and from 1 October 2027 it must take melt-and-pour data into account when it distributes quotas.
Commission leaders framed the deal as a response to global overcapacity. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said: “I welcome the shared urgency of the co-legislators to turn our proposal into action.” Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné said that “the steel industry has been at the foundation of our European unity.”
Industry pressed for speed. Eurofer Director General Axel Eggert said: “There must now be no delay in ensuring the measure enters into force by 1 July 2026, when the current safeguard expires.” The EU steel measure did meet that date, and unused quarterly quota carries over into the next quarter until 30 June 2027, when a review follows.
Country allocations remain the open question for exporters. Eurometal reported that the Commission was still negotiating with partners on WTO compatibility, and it must weigh import shares, current and future trade agreements, and Ukraine’s position as a candidate country. The Commission’s page on protecting EU steelmaking tracks the implementing acts.
For buyers, the message is to plan by quarter. A supplier whose quota fills early faces the 50 percent duty, and the carry-over rule only softens that risk until the review. How the Commission handles quota distribution and melt-and-pour evidence will decide whether the EU steel measure protects European mills without starving downstream manufacturers.
