EP green light for EU steel safeguards: reduced imports and increased tariffs
The Eurocamera approved the text. The new regulation must be formally approved by the European Council and will enter into force on 1 July 2026
The European Parliament gives the final green light to new measures to protect the EU steel industry from global overproduction by reducing import quotas and increasing tariffs on steel imports into the Union. This is the demand of the Euro Chamber, which in plenary in Strasbourg approved the text signed by Swedish Liberal MEP Karin Karlsbro, with 606 votes in favour, 16 against and 39 abstentions. The new regulation must now be formally approved by the European Council and will enter into force on 1 July 2026.
The new rules introduce lower import quotas by limiting duty-free import volumes to 18.3 million tonnes per year, a 47% reduction from the 2024 quota. In addition, a 50% tariffs (doubled from the current 25%) will apply to imports exceeding the new quota.
The regulation also focuses on increased traceability of steel arriving within the EU, 'to limit the circumvention of measures by non-EU companies through minimal processing of the product carried out in third countries'.
Finally, the new rules introduce the 'melting and casting principle', according to which the origin of steel is determined by where it is initially melted and cast: the European Commission will therefore have to take the origin of steel into account when allocating import quotas.
