EU steel production legislation limits the amount of steel that can be imported duty-free into the EU to 18.3 million tons per year. This quota will be distributed among trading partners using a fair and objective methodology based on the criteria set out in the steel production regulations.
Methodology (7):16)
- A distinction is made between partners in the EU Free Trade Agreement (FTTA) and non-FTTA partners, ensuring that FTTA partners receive better conditions in the form of increased quotas.
- It takes into account the issues of diversification and security of supply.
- Recognizes any agreements in principle reached between the EU and a trading partner within the framework of the WTO (negotiations on Article XXVIII of the GATT).
This allocation of quotas between different trading partners is a key step for the implementation of steel production regulation, ensuring predictability for the market and allowing the regulation to enter into force on July 1, 2026.
How does quota allocation work?
The total quota of 18.3 million tons will be distributed according to various criteria set out in the steel production regulations. Two of them are particularly important:
- Steel trade with the EU is a thing of the past . All countries whose share in imports of specific steel products to the EU was at least 5% (during the reporting period 2022-2024) are provided with a quota for a specific country. Other partners will be able to carry out duty-free exports within the remaining quota. This system is similar to the previous protective measure for steel.
- The partners in the free trade agreement are half of the total quota of 18.3 million. Tons (i.e. 9.15 million tons ) . Tons) is reserved only for EU partners under the free trade agreement. It follows that the bulk of the funds will be distributed among specific free trade agreement partners in proportion to their historical trade volumes, while a smaller portion will be distributed among the free trade agreement partners on a first-come, first-served basis.
Result
For the partners of the free Trade agreement:
- Quotas for specific countries
- The corresponding share of the total quotas for distribution by country will be distributed among the free trade agreement partners who meet the threshold of at least 5% of EU imports (based on the base period 2022-2024).
- In addition, once they exhaust their country quotas, the free trade agreement partners will have access to the quota on a fully competitive first-come, first-served basis.
- Remaining quotas
- Partners under the Free Trade Agreement
