New EU safeguard measures on steel imports should not harm Ukraine’s exports

The EC’s draft proposal for new safeguard measures on steel imports contains a reference to Ukraine’s special status in this process.

It says that the interests of a candidate country facing an exceptional and immediate security situation, such as Ukraine, should also be taken into account when deciding on the allocation of quotas, without undermining the effectiveness of this measure.

In a comment to Yevropeiska Pravda, EC spokesperson Olaf Hill confirmed this position. He noted that according to the new proposal, in the future Ukraine will have access to a system of duty-free tariff quotas.

Gill reminded that Ukraine is among the ten largest sources of imports to the EU, and in some market segments, Ukrainian supplies to the bloc have grown significantly amid declining local demand. The EC spokesman added that last year the country even managed to significantly increase exports in several key product categories covered by the new proposal.

It is worth noting that Ukrainian steel products were exempted from EU safeguard measures by the European Parliament only a few months ago.

On October 7, the European Commission presented a proposal to protect the EU steel industry from the unfair impact of global overcapacity. It includes limiting duty-free imports to 18.3 million tons per year, which is a 47% reduction compared to the 2024 steel quotas, and doubling the duty on products outside the quota to 50%. The proposal will replace the current steel safeguard measures, which expire in June 2026.