The European Commission has closed a loophole in the import quotas for rebar

The European Commission has published an implementing regulation clarifying the classification of fittings under the current steel safeguard regime. This is stated in a press release from the institution.

The document includes changes to the classification of products under the tariff quota (TRQ) system applied to imports of certain steel products into the EU. Under the current regime, which covers 26 categories of steel products, an additional duty of 25% is levied on volumes exceeding the quota.

As noted, reinforcing steel classified under CN codes 7214 20 00 and 7214 99 10 has also been entering the EU in significant volumes under CN code 7228 30 69 since last year. The flows of such shipments since last year have differed significantly from traditional ones in terms of volume and origin. In 2025, imports under CN 7228 30 69 increased by approximately 250% year-over-year, with these volumes accounting for approximately 35% of the total annual quota for rebar.

The European Commission noted that some manufacturers had slightly altered the chemical composition of reinforcing bars to reclassify them from tariff heading 7214 (unalloyed steel bars) to 7228 (alloyed steel bars), which has a higher duty-free quota.

To close this loophole, the EC created new TARIC codes to clarify product classification. Accordingly, codes 7228 30 69 11 (ribbed or deformed reinforcing steel) and 7228 30 69 99 (other) were established.

The changes do not expand the scope of the existing safeguard measures and do not alter the quota volumes applicable to the relevant product categories.

The regulation entered into force on April 10, 2026, and will apply to the new safeguard regime starting July 1, 2026.

As a reminder, in late March, the European Commission launched a new investigation to assess whether safeguard measures are necessary regarding imports of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES). According to the statement, EU-based producers of this product are facing intense import pressure from third countries, particularly China, especially amid of growing global overcapacity.