The new EU steel production regulation, published in the official journal, includes a "Melt and Pour" requirement and a 50% tariff.
The European Union has officially published Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 in the Official Journal, establishing a new framework to replace the existing steel safeguards, which expire on June 30, 2026.
The European Union has published Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 in the Official Journal of the European Union, replacing the current protective measures for steel, which expire on June 30, 2026. . A new regulation aimed at reducing the trade-related negative effects of global overcapacity in the European Union steel market entered into force after its publication in the Official Journal and will be applied as of July 1, 2026. The new regulation introduces a more comprehensive tariff quota regime instead of the system of protective measures that has been in effect since 2019 and aims to to tighten import controls on the EU steel market. Duties exceeding quotas have been increased to 50% In accordance with the decree, the customs duty outside quotas, which currently stands at 25%, has been increased to 50%. The EU cited tariff differences in global trade and the growing risk of trade redirection as justification for such an increase. According to the new system, steel exports to the EU exceeding the established quotas will be subject to an additional duty of 50%. Imports from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway will remain outside the system. The annual steel quota is set at 18.3 million tons Under the new system, the total tariff quota for the EU is set at 18,345,922 tons. This volume was calculated based on the 13% share of imports in the market for 2013, when global pressure on excess production capacity had not yet increased, as well as taking into account consumption data for 2024. Due to the current import bans in Russia, imports from this country were excluded from the calculation of quotas. Quotas will be distributed by product category based on import shares recorded in the period 2022-2024 and will be introduced quarterly. New enhanced control through "Melting and pouring" Another key provision of the regulations is the introduction of the "melting and pouring" rule. Accordingly, for steel products, the country of origin will be recognized not only as the country of final processing, but also as the country where the steel was first converted from liquid to solid form (for example, slabs, billets or ingots). According to this requirement, importers will be required to confirm the production chain with documents such as a factory test certificate during customs procedures. With this measure, the EU aims to prevent the leakage of goods as a result of indirect changes in origin and to increase the transparency of the entire supply chain. Quarterly