The EU’s requirement regarding the smelting and casting of steel will come into force in October

On 24 June, the European Union published a regulation on new safeguard measures concerning steel imports in the Official Journal of the EU.

It will replace the current measures, which expire on 30 June this year, and will apply from 1 July.

The regulation sets a total annual duty-free quota of 18.3 million tonnes. Steel imports exceeding these limits will be subject to a 50 per cent tariff. Imports from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway will remain outside the scope of the scheme.

Details regarding the allocation of quotas to individual countries have not yet been announced.

Under the new scheme, tariff quotas will be managed on a quarterly rather than an annual basis. Unused volumes may be carried over to the following quarter during the first year of implementation.

Another provision of the regulation is the introduction of the ‘smelting and casting’ rule. This requirement will apply from 1 October 2026. By 31 August of this year, the European Commission must adopt detailed implementing rules specifying the necessary evidence. By 30 June 2028, the European Commission will, on the basis of information gathered in accordance with the new rule, assess whether it is necessary to determine the country of origin as the basis for benefiting from tariff quotas.

By 30 June 2027, the European Commission must assess the need to amend the list of products, taking into account whether it should cover additional goods made of steel or containing a significant amount of it. The assessment must, amongst other things, give priority to products derived from the processing of pig iron and steel that are not covered by the new regulation.

Furthermore, by 30 June 2029 and every two years thereafter following the implementation of this regulation, the European Commission will assess its effectiveness following extensive consultations with stakeholders across the entire value chain, unless significant market changes require this to be done earlier.

As noted in the document, the EU steel industry is facing a difficult situation due to global overcapacity and increasing import pressure. In particular, the unprecedented loss of production capacity since 2018 has amounted to over 30 million tonnes, with capacity utilisation reaching a historically low level of 67 per cent in 2024.

It should be recalled that in June this year, the European Commission launched consultations on the documents required to ensure traceability as part of the implementation of the ‘smelting and casting’ requirement. These consultations will run until 2 July 2026.