Japanese steelmakers are concerned about the implications of the EU’s new protective measures

Industry associations point to other trade restrictions imposed by the bloc

Five Japanese industry groups representing the country’s steel sector have issued a joint statement criticising the EU’s new protective measures on steel, describing them as inappropriate and unfair to Japan.

The EU’s tariff quota for Japan has been set at 800,000 tonnes, which is significantly lower than the average import volume for 2022–2024, which stood at around 1.5 million tonnes per year.

Industry representatives also point out that in August 2024, the EU launched an anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled flat steel from four countries – Japan, Egypt, India and Vietnam. However, imports of these products from Japanese steelmakers had already fallen following the tightening of the bloc’s previous safeguard measures in July 2024. However, as stated in the announcement, the EU assessed the injury without taking due account of the restrictive impact of these measures, and in September 2025 issued a final decision imposing anti-dumping duties.

Furthermore, last September the EU launched a separate anti-dumping investigation into cold-rolled flat steel from five countries – Japan, India, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. Japanese steelmakers have expressed concern that anti-dumping duties on these products may also be imposed without due consideration of the restrictive impact and the strengthening of previous measures on the relevant goods.

“We consider this series of trade measures taken by the EU to be inappropriate and regrettable, given that Japan and the EU have concluded an Economic Partnership Agreement,” the statement notes.

At the same time, the government expressed concern that the bloc’s decisions were inconsistent with international rules, as highlighted in the ‘Report on Compliance with Trade Agreements by Major Trading Partners for 2026’ (published in June).

The statement notes that the EU’s trade measures will hinder the smooth export of Japanese steel products to the European market and threaten companies’ ability to serve customers in Europe. Steelmakers have called on the Japanese government to continue negotiations with the bloc.

It should be noted that South Korea will stimulate domestic demand for steel against the backdrop of the EU’s protective measures. It is expected that steel intended for the European market will now also be exported to other regions.