The European Commission is tightening import safeguards on steel starting July 1, reducing duty-free quotas and raising tariffs to 50 percent for shipments exceeding the new limits. The updated regulations also cover Ukrainian steel, a move welcomed by Polish industry as a safeguard against cost competition.
The new system replaces the previous safeguard measures that expired today. Under the fresh rules, the annual duty-free quota for steel imports into the EU will be set at 18.3 million tonnes. Half of this volume is reserved for countries with free trade agreements with the Union, while the other half is open to all exporters on equal terms. According to Commission sources, around 80 percent of EU steel imports come from these FTA partners.
Once a country exceeds its allocated quota, additional shipments will face a 50 percent duty – a level comparable to the tariffs imposed by the United States. The regulation was adopted on an emergency basis and will apply for a maximum of six months.
Ukraine included but not given full access
For Polish steelmakers, a key development is the inclusion of Ukraine in the new safeguard system. Ukrainian steel has been entering the EU largely duty-free under autonomous trade measures introduced after the Russian invasion. Polish producers had long warned that this created an uneven playing field, as Ukrainian mills do not bear the same climate-related costs as EU plants.
– Ukraine has been included in this regulation and received an allocation reflecting its position on the steel market. However, it did not get, as we feared, full free access to the EU market – said Mirosław Motyka, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Metallurgy (HIPH).
Polish companies had raised the alarm about what they termed a 'grain scenario’ repeating itself – with Ukrainian steel flooding the nearest market, Poland, due to lower production costs.
New rules target circumvention via 'melt and pour’
Another important element of the regulation is the introduction of a requirement to disclose the country where steel was melted and poured. The 'melt and pour’ rule is designed to prevent traders from rerouting shipments through third countries to avoid quotas. Previously, some producers would perform minimal processing in a country with spare quota – such as Turkey – and then label the steel as originating there, even if the actual melting took place in China or another low-cost producer.
The European Commission argues that the new rules will reduce market distortions caused by persistent global overcapacity and protect jobs in the EU steel sector. They also aim to create conditions for investment in more innovative and low‑carbon technologies.
Global overcapacity keeps growing
The EU steel market has been under pressure from high energy costs, weak demand, and fierce competition from third countries, notably China. According to the OECD, global steelmaking capacity has grown for five consecutive years, reaching a record 2,445 million tonnes in 2025, even as world demand shrank for the fourth year running.
As a result, global overcapacity – the difference between production capacity and actual output – rose to 640 million tonnes in 2025, exceeding the combined steel output of all OECD countries by more than 200 million tonnes. Projections indicate the situation will worsen, with overcapacity expected to reach 745 million tonnes by 2028. Most of the recent capacity additions have occurred outside the OECD, as many emerging economies view steel production as a strategic industry for domestic development and export growth.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Vladimir Mulder / Shutterstock
