The EU’s extra cost burden on steel imports in 2026 may cause a shift in contract commercial terms to reflect the added costs in pricing. Besides the new trade regime anticipated from mid-2026, this would cover some risk associated with Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) charges, which cannot be accurately determined at present.
“Everybody is struggling with confusion at this point; I am concerned, because the first of January is basically around the corner,” one trader says. Exporting mills are aware of this prevailing sentiment among their European customers, and have started to factor in a CBAM accounting charge, which he and other observers see at around €70/tonne ($82).
This brings his offer price from Asian mills to European customers to €580/tonne ($681) ddp for hot rolled coil for delivery in April, he tells Kallanish. According to a Dutch service centre, traders have been offering HRC also from Turkey at €580-600/t ddp, including the CBAM charges.
“If they [exporter mills] want to maintain interest from the Europeans, they need to offer ddp,” the trader says. Players’ views differ on whether ddp, or delivered duty paid, means delivered to the final destination, or the port after customs clearance.
In the latter case, which is more likely, buyers in Belgium and the Netherlands close to the landing ports could find imports still attractive. “We have canal access, so it’s only €10 extra transport for us,” one Dutch buyer says.
The resulting differential between €590/t delivered and the domestic base price of around €620/t ex-works could make a bigger difference when aiming for the higher S355 grade, rather than the standard S235 grade. The latter grade is basically covered by the base price, or levied a minimal surcharge of €5/t, the buyer explains. By contrast, domestic mills may charge up to €30/t more for S355, whereas in the case of import prices, differentiation between the grades remains virtually unconsidered.
