EU caps duty-free steel imports at 18.3 million tonnes

The European Union has implemented a new system of steel import quotas and tariffs, effective July 1, 2026, designed to shield its domestic industry from global oversupply. The policy caps duty-free steel imports at 18.3 million tonnes annually, a 47 percent reduction from 2024 levels, and doubles the tariff on volumes exceeding the quota to 50 percent.

Half of the new annual import quota, or 9.15 million tonnes, is reserved exclusively for the EU's free trade agreement (FTA) partners. The remaining half is open to all trading partners, including those with FTAs. This structure ensures preferential access for countries with existing trade pacts while significantly limiting market share for non-FTA nations, most notably China. China accounted for 9.9 percent of EU steel imports in 2025 but lacks a trade agreement with the bloc.

Thirteen FTA partners will see their quotas reduced by only about one-third, based on their historical trade volumes from 2022 to 2024. These countries are the United Kingdom, Turkey, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Brazil, Switzerland, North Macedonia, South Africa, Argentina, Ukraine, and Singapore. Ukraine has been granted special status to...