Eurofer has urged the European Commission to adopt its proposed tariff-rate quota (TRQ) safeguard on ferro-alloy imports, describing it as the “last chance” for the industry to recover after years of import pressure. The Commission issued its safeguard proposal last week following an investigation, with member states set to vote on Monday or Tuesday this week.
“There is no doubt that in the current critical situation, without any safeguard action this industry will disappear over the next years, creating a situation of total dependency for European users on supply from foreign countries,” Eurofer said last week.
The European steel industry, as a major consumer of ferro-alloys, has a strategic interest in maintaining upstream production capacity within the EU to ensure supply security and preserve the integrity of the European metals value chain, the association added.
The TRQ system proposed still allows limited yet significant import volumes to enter tariff-free, ensuring a fair balance between suppliers and users, according to Eurofer. “This action is not directed against any specific exporting country, but aims to strengthen EU economic resilience and autonomy,” it added.
The European Commission has proposed a three-year safeguard measure on imports of certain ferro-alloying elements effective from 18 November, following evidence of serious injury to Union producers, it said via a WTO notification seen by Kallanish.
The Commission concluded that the safeguard is in the Union’s strategic and economic interest, supporting the recovery of a sector vital to steelmaking, automotive, and advanced alloys, while maintaining a secure and stable supply for EU industries.
The measures are to apply to ferro-manganese, ferro-silicon, ferro-silico-manganese and ferro-silico-magnesium, under CN codes 7202 11, 7202 19, 7202 21, 7202 29, 7202 30 and 7202 99 30.
The Commission established product- and country-specific TRQs based on 2022-2024 average imports, distributed quarterly and increasing by 0.1% annually until expiry on 17 November 2028.
Major quota-holding origins under the safeguard include Norway – despite being an EEA member – India, South Africa, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, China, and Zambia.
For ferro-manganese, Norway received 28,972 tonnes per quarter, India 17,626t, South Africa 8,273t, Malaysia 6,766t, South Korea 4,833t, and other suppliers 5,558t.
For ferro-silicon, Norway was granted 35,136t per quarter, Iceland 13,373t, Kazakhstan 8,090t, Brazil 6,316t, and other origins 24,984t.
For ferro-silico-manganese, Norway obtained 37,068t, India 31,959t, Zambia 7,882t, and other countries 18,956t.
For ferro-silico-magnesium, China was allocated 469t, Brazil 100t, India 7t, Thailand 77t, and other suppliers 19t.
In-quota imports enter duty-free, while out-of-quota volumes face a variable duty based on price thresholds of €1,316/t for ferro-manganese, €2,408/t for ferro-silicon, €1,392/t for ferro-silico-manganese, and €3,647/t for ferro-silico-magnesium.
The investigation covering 2019-mid-2025 revealed that EU ferro-alloy output halved, capacity utilisation fell to 35%, profitability dropped from +7% in 2021 to -20% in the latest period, and employment declined by nearly a quarter. Imports rose 13% in absolute terms and more than doubled relative to EU production, with import prices staying 5-17% below Union producers’ levels since 2021.
The Commission linked these trends to global overcapacity of around 27 million tonnes – about 16 times EU demand – combined with trade diversion following US duties on ferro-silicon from Brazil, Kazakhstan and Malaysia in 2025. These factors redirected large volumes to the EU market, intensifying price pressure and eroding profitability.
The measure excludes Ukraine and developing WTO members with import shares below 3% (collectively under 9%), as well as Algeria.
Elina Virchenko UAE
