EU launches new import control tool to protect industry from information leakage from trade
The European Commission has launched a new import control tool to help protect EU markets from potentially dangerous trade redirection, especially in light of recent disruptions to global trade flows.
The European Commission has created a new control tool to help protect EU markets from potentially dangerous redirection of trade. The EU opposes sudden and potentially disruptive import surges. This system aims to prevent the harmful redirection of trade that occurs when a significant number of goods that cannot enter other markets due to high tariffs and other restrictions are redirected to the EU. By providing evidence-based information and customs data, the surveillance tool will enable the European Commission to promptly identify any such import spikes and take timely and effective measures to protect the EU market from adverse impacts.
This development is a direct response to the call for the EUROMETAL action in April 2025, in which we called on EU institutions to implement faster and more transparent mechanisms to monitor import growth, which could threaten the competitiveness of European steel distribution and service centers.
To further strengthen this initiative, the European Commission invites EU manufacturers, industry associations and member States to review import trends available on the instrument's website and provide additional market information and data on the economic situation in the industry. This will further assist the European Commission in identifying specific products that may be at risk due to a significant increase in imports.
A special working group to eliminate information leakage from trade
The new tool is based on the initiative of the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to create an import control service to use force to protect EU markets and industries. This group is tasked with addressing issues related to trade redirection, especially in the wake of recent turmoil in the global trading system.
. The task force's work focuses on providing timely and informed information to support the Commission's decision-making process. Previously, the company developed an internal dashboard that tracks all imports into the EU and uses statistical analysis to identify products whose imports are potentially dangerous to health. Focusing on the period from January 1, 2025, the task force will continue to monitor imports and other indicators on an ongoing basis, the results of which will be regularly published on the Internet.