EU Council agrees on changes to new protective measures on steel imports

On December 12, the EU Council adopted its mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament on the regulation concerning new protective measures for steel proposed by the European Commission.

The new regulation is to replace the current trade measures, which expire on June 30, 2026.

As noted, the Council’s mandate is to ensure a balance between protecting the European steel industry and taking into account the needs of consumers in the processing segments.

The Council’s mandate retains the main protective elements of the EC’s proposal (restrictions on duty-free imports and a doubling of import duties above the quota to 50%). At the same time, it includes several amendments.

The rules for administering tariff quotas have been adjusted for greater flexibility. In particular, the Council has allowed unused tariff quota volumes in one quarter to be carried over to the next within the same annual period of application.

The Council also stressed the need to take into account potential price increases that undermine the competitiveness of processing industries when determining quota volumes.

The proposed regulation establishes tariff quotas and out-of-quota duties applicable to all third countries, with the exception of countries in the European Economic Area. The EC may, by means of a delegated act, adjust the volumes of tariff quotas, taking into account the interests of the bloc and a number of factors. The Council has specified that the total volume of these adjusted quotas should be limited to 15.2-22.2 million tons.

The regulation proposed by the European Commission requires importers to provide evidence of the country of “smelting and casting.”

The Council has clarified the implementation of this rule:

• the requirement for importers to provide relevant evidence will apply from October 1, 2026—the transition period gives economic operators and customs authorities time to adapt;
• the EC will have two years to assess whether the country of origin should be used as the basis for allocating tariff quotas to specific countries. If it concludes that this is necessary, the institution will present a new legislative proposal on this issue;
• the need for the EC to consult with stakeholders before introducing any requirements in order to assess the potential administrative burden on importers and public authorities is emphasized.

The date for assessing the possibility of extending the scope of the regulation proposed by the EC is moved from two years to 18 months. This also ensures that the European Commission will initiate the relevant consultation process with stakeholders by October 1, 2026.

The period for the first general review of the impact of the regulation on the steel market and EU interests has been reduced to four years from the date of entry into force, with subsequent assessments every two years. The Council also paid additional attention in the review to assessing the impact on downstream industries.

The new provision also requires the European Commission to set up an online contact point where EU economic operators can request relevant information on the implementation of the new regulation.

Once the European Parliament has approved its position, legislators will begin negotiations to finalize the text.

As a reminder, in October, the EC presented a proposal to protect the EU steel industry from the unfair impact of global overcapacity. It provides for limiting duty-free imports to 18.3 million tons per year and doubling the duty rate on products outside the quota to 50% (compared to 25% under the current safeguard measure).