France has spearheaded an initiative for new European protective measures on steel

French Industry Minister Marc Ferracci has proposed a new initiative for comprehensive EU trade measures on steel imports.

The initiative aims to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the European steel industry and steel capacity utilization close to the 85% target set by the EC in its action plan for steel and metals.

The informal document was supported by 11 EU member states. It outlines a roadmap for replacing the protective measures currently in place.

The proposal calls on the EC to develop and present a new system well before the expiry of the current protective measures (June 2026), preferably from the beginning of next year, to ensure a smooth transition and protection of the European market.

Among the key proposals are the following:

• The new system should take the form of a tariff quota system with flexible volumes to adapt to changes in European demand.
• Like the current safeguard measures, it will consist of duty-free tariff quotas with additional duties on all imports outside their limits. In order to effectively limit the share of imports in the market, quotas must be set at a significantly lower level (40-50% below current levels, based on steel demand in Europe in 2024).
• If quotas are exceeded, the new mechanism should apply to all third countries without exception and prevent any country from monopolizing duty-free volumes. Unforeseen effects, such as gradual exemption, transfer of unused quotas, or differentiated management of requests by national customs authorities, should be eliminated.

In addition, the initiative proposes to extend the scope to certain metal products that are not currently covered by protective measures, the list of which is attached.

The European Steel Association (EUROFER) welcomed the initiative and called on other Member States, the European Parliament, and the European Commission to fully support it.

“These are exactly the coordinated, ambitious actions we need to stop the tsunami of cheap steel imports that could destroy Europe’s industrial base, jobs, and green transition. Urgency and political determination are now more important than ever,” said EUROFER CEO Axel Eggert.

It should be recalled that the European Commission has launched targeted consultations to identify future measures to further protect the EU steel sector. The bloc is seeking to develop a highly effective and forward-looking instrument.