As of 1 July, Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 has officially entered into force, replacing the EU steel Safeguard measures, which expired on 30 June 2026. The new regulatory framework is intended to address the adverse effects of global overcapacity on the European steel market.
The Regulation establishes tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) covering a total annual volume of 18.34 million tonnes, divided into 26 product categories. Under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1457 of 29 June, these categories have also been allocated by country. As a result, compared with the previous 2024 framework, the volume of steel that may enter the EU market duty-free has been reduced by 47%. In addition, the new measures impose a 50% ad valorem duty on imports exceeding the quota, doubling the 25% duty applied under the former Safeguard measures.
The tighter regime is designed to defend the European steel industry from the influx of low-priced steel while providing more favourable treatment for countries that have free trade agreements with the European Union, namely the EFTA countries, which account for around 80% of the EU's steel imports. Accordingly, these countries are allocated nearly half of the annual quota - approximately 9.15 million tonnes - while the remaining half is available to all trading partners (including EFTA countries) on a non-discriminatory basis and in accordance with the most-favoured-nation (MFN) principle.
The determination of the origin of steel products is a key element of the new regulatory framework and follows the EU rules on non-preferential origin. Steel products originating in the European Union that undergo processing in a third country which is insufficient to confer a change of origin will nevertheless be subject, upon re-importation into the EU, to the treatment applicable under the new regime to products originating from that third country.
The European Commission also notes that the new steel regulation introduces a traceability requirement aimed at improving transparency throughout the European steel supply chain. Importers will be required to provide information on the "melt and pour" stage, identifying the location where the imported steel was melted and poured.
Commenting on the latest implementing act, European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič stressed that the Commission is putting in place all the measures necessary to ensure that the new trade defence regime is fully effective from its very first day of application. The Commission also emphasised its commitment to providing the steel industry with the predictability it requires through clear and transparent quota allocation rules, while applying a fair and objective methodology. Through the new system, the EU aims to strike a balance between its commitments under free trade agreements, ongoing negotiations within the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the need to maintain diversified sources of steel supply.
A table showing the tariff-rate quotas set out in Annex I to the Regulation, together with their up-to-date utilisation based on TARIC data, is available here to subscribers of siderweb.com.
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