The European Commission has introduced temporary protective measures against the import of electrical steel with an oriented granular structure, known as GOES, which is used for the production of transformers. The decision will be valid until February 26, 2027 and provides for a combination of tariff quotas with price thresholds.
Following an investigation launched in March, the European Commission concluded that urgent measures are needed to protect the strategically important EU industry, which is under pressure due to rising imports, global overproduction and the decline of traditional export markets. The restrictions also apply to cores used in transformers, which, according to the commission, should also protect manufacturers at subsequent stages of the supply chain.
According to the analysis, over the period from 2021 to 2025, the volume of imports of relevant products increased by 120% in absolute terms, by 141% relative to production in the EU and by 66% compared to consumption in the European Union.
The price thresholds are set in the range from 2,800 to 5,000 euros per ton. The quotas are 30,694 tons for China, 4,790 tons for South Korea, and 14,162 tons for Turkey. There are 2,694 tons for the "other countries" category.
"Europe will not be able to expand and strengthen its electricity grids without reliable supplies of European-made electrical steel. This measure provides the necessary balance: maintaining GOES's viable production base in Europe and opening the market to imports that transformer manufacturers need," said Axel Eggert, CEO of Eurofer.
The association also believes that the additional costs for EU electrification programs will be minimal. Eurofer estimates that the new measure will increase total electricity costs by only 0.002 euro cents per kilowatt hour. At the same time, GOES accounts for a small part of the cost of transformers, and the transformers themselves occupy a limited share of total investments in the power grid infrastructure.
Eurofer stressed that the measures apply not only to rolled GOES products, but also to plates, cores and other elements used in transformers. According to the association, this should prevent the transfer of import pressure to subsequent production stages and prevent the deterioration of the position of European transformer manufacturers in comparison with importers who use artificially low prices outside the EU.
