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October 3, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
Climate Insurance Alliance Targets A 75 percent Gap In Disaster CoverSatellite Firms Await EU Space Act Verdict On NIS2 OverlapErasmus+ Budget Demand Leaves €6.6 Billion Gap To CommissionRaw Materials Corporation Would Stockpile Metals Europe Needs MostKallas Defence Group Collapse Shows Limits Of Her RoleEU Development Cooperation Meets Its Dublin Moment Of TruthG7 Energy Security Pledge Releases 100 Million BarrelsYabloko Sanctions Hit Ten Russian Judges And OfficialsConsultation On EU KIDS Act Tests Under-13 Social Media BanLeaders Await Irish 2028-2034 Budget Draft Before October 15 SummitMedical Devices Regulation Revision Draws 130 Amendments In ParliamentAGILE Defence Programme Heads For Final Vote With Four Month ClockSafe Countries Of Origin List Speeds Asylum Cases From JuneETS2 Delay To 2028 Gives Households A Longer Carbon ReprieveAir Passenger Rights Overhaul Keeps €600 Cap For Long TripsImplementation And Consolidation Year Splits Brussels On Red TapePhilippines Free Trade Agreement Opens 94 percent Of Tariff Lines To EuropeSaudi Arabia EU Summit Revives The Case For A Gulf Trade DealPacific Islands Forum Consensus Rules Test Europe’s Pacific StrategyTunisia Migration Deal Faces Rewrite Demands As Libya Takes The LeadClimate Insurance Alliance Targets A 75 percent Gap In Disaster CoverSatellite Firms Await EU Space Act Verdict On NIS2 OverlapErasmus+ Budget Demand Leaves €6.6 Billion Gap To CommissionRaw Materials Corporation Would Stockpile Metals Europe Needs MostKallas Defence Group Collapse Shows Limits Of Her RoleEU Development Cooperation Meets Its Dublin Moment Of TruthG7 Energy Security Pledge Releases 100 Million BarrelsYabloko Sanctions Hit Ten Russian Judges And OfficialsConsultation On EU KIDS Act Tests Under-13 Social Media BanLeaders Await Irish 2028-2034 Budget Draft Before October 15 SummitMedical Devices Regulation Revision Draws 130 Amendments In ParliamentAGILE Defence Programme Heads For Final Vote With Four Month ClockSafe Countries Of Origin List Speeds Asylum Cases From JuneETS2 Delay To 2028 Gives Households A Longer Carbon ReprieveAir Passenger Rights Overhaul Keeps €600 Cap For Long TripsImplementation And Consolidation Year Splits Brussels On Red TapePhilippines Free Trade Agreement Opens 94 percent Of Tariff Lines To EuropeSaudi Arabia EU Summit Revives The Case For A Gulf Trade DealPacific Islands Forum Consensus Rules Test Europe’s Pacific StrategyTunisia Migration Deal Faces Rewrite Demands As Libya Takes The Lead

Electrical Steel Safeguard Sets Quotas And Price Floors For Imports

Agnes Tjelta
Policy Brief Reporter, Economy and Competitiveness

Essen: The European Commission has put an electrical steel safeguard in place that limits imports of grain-oriented electrical steel through quotas and price thresholds. The provisional measure took effect on 25 September 2026 and runs until 26 February 2027, a period of 155 days.

Grain-oriented electrical steel goes into transformer cores, so the metal sits at the heart of Europe’s grid build-out. The Commission found that rising imports caused serious injury to EU producers and judged provisional action urgent to protect a strategic EU industry while the full investigation continues. A final decision is expected by February 2027.

The quotas in the electrical steel safeguard vary by origin. China receives 30,693.68 tonnes, Japan 23,103.61 tonnes and South Korea 4,789.93 tonnes, while all other eligible countries share 5,360.39 tonnes. The Commission paired the quotas with price thresholds, so duties apply only when import prices fall below set minimums.

Thresholds for in-quota grain-oriented electrical steel range from €2,800 to €3,400 per tonne depending on the product code, and out-of-quota material faces a threshold of €3,500 per tonne. Steel laminations carry thresholds of €4,000 in quota and €4,550 out of quota, while cores carry €5,000 and €5,600. Imports that meet or exceed the threshold pay no duty.

The scope extends beyond raw steel. The electrical steel safeguard also covers laminations, cores and transformer cores already built into imported transformers, which limits the scope for avoiding the quotas by importing finished components. Quotas for laminations and cores run from 14,162 tonnes for Türkiye down to 2,694 tonnes for other countries.

The Commission’s case rests on import growth. Import volumes rose 120% between 2021 and 2025 as global overcapacity and closed export markets pushed material toward Europe. The Commission estimates the impact on grid costs at 0.002 cents per kilowatt-hour, a figure it uses to argue that protection will not meaningfully raise electricity bills.

Transformer makers and grid operators sit on the other side of the debate. Europe plans heavy investment in grids to connect renewables and new demand, and every transformer needs electrical steel. If the quotas bind tightly, lead times for transformers could lengthen, which is why the Commission stressed its low estimate for the grid cost impact and why the electrical steel safeguard keeps a path open for imports above the price thresholds.

Producers’ association EUROFER said the measures strike the right balance, because they protect European production while still allowing the imports that transformer manufacturers need. Transformer makers will watch whether quota volumes and price floors leave them enough supply while Europe expands its grid. The electrical steel safeguard will face scrutiny until the final decision in February 2027.

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