EU member states and the European Parliament have agreed provisional new rules to limit steel imports from July 2026, replacing the bloc’s current safeguard measures which expire on 30 June 2026.
The agreement is intended to respond to global overcapacity in steel production and the risk that surplus steel is redirected into the EU market, the Council of the EU announced on Monday night.
At the centre of the deal is a revised tariff-rate quota system, which allows a set volume of steel to enter the EU at lower tariffs, with higher duties applying once quotas are exceeded.
Steel import quotas would be cut by about 47% compared with the 2024 safeguard quotas, equivalent to 18.3 million tonnes a year, and the duty on imports above quota would rise to 50%.
During the first year the rules apply, unused quotas could be carried over from one quarter to the next for all product categories, with the European Commission deciding from the second year whether to allow carry-over for specific products.
Michael Damianos, Cyprus minister for energy, commerce and industry, said the agreement would give the EU “a stronger and more effective instrument to address global overcapacity” while maintaining a rules-based approach.
New “melt and pour” rule and scope reviews
The deal also introduces a “melt and pour” requirement — identifying the country where steel was first produced in liquid form and cast — which would be used as one factor when allocating quotas to non-EU countries, the Council said.
The Commission must assess within two years whether “melt and pour” should become the basis for country-specific quota allocations and, if needed, propose new legislation, it added.
The product coverage would broadly mirror the existing EU steel safeguards, but the Commission must review within six months of the regulation entering into force whether to add more steel products such as tubes and pipes, certain wire types and forged bars.
A second review is due within 12 months, including whether further changes are needed for products made of, or containing, significant amounts of steel, with additional reviews every two years after that.
In a joint declaration accompanying the regulation, the co-legislators and the Commission reaffirmed efforts to reduce dependence on Russia by diversifying steel imports and phasing out Russian steel products.
The agreement still needs endorsement by member states’ representatives and the European Parliament, with the regulation set to apply from 1 July 2026 once formally adopted.
