The European Commission has opened a consultation on future steel trade measures to replace existing steel safeguard measures, with market participants expecting the new measures to be phased in sooner than in July 2026, Fastmarkets understands.
On Friday July 18, the Commission launched a targeted consultation aimed at identifying potential future actions to protect the EU steel industry from unfair trade practices and the adverse effects of global steel overcapacity.
The existing steel safeguard measures have been in place since 2019 and were intended to protect EU steelmakers from a potential surge in imports. The current measures are set to expire on June 30, 2026.
The Commission is aiming to find “an effective replacement” for the current EU safeguards on steel.
Steel industry stakeholders have until August 18, 2025 to submit their views on several options prepared by the Commission.
In the third quarter of 2025, the Commission is expected to propose long-term measures, based on tariff-rate quotas, to replace the steel safeguards from July 1, 2026, providing an equivalent level of protection against negative trade-related effects caused by global overcapacity.
Sources, however, told Fastmarkets that the new measures might come into force sooner than July 2026.
“The idea is for the new measures to be implemented as of January 2026,” a source said.
Potential scenarios
European Steel Association (EUROFER) director general, Axel Eggert, told delegates at the Eurometal 75th anniversary event earlier this month, that any new measures should cover all basic steel products, including steel derivatives and processed products.
The existing steel safeguarding measures cover 26 product categories.
The Commission said the new “highly efficient measures” should apply to all countries, “regardless of market orientation or development status.”
Several sources told Fastmarkets they expect the new measures to be product-based rather than country based.
“There is likely to be a tariff-rate based quotas for each steel product. And this [quota] will be applied to all overseas suppliers with no exemptions,” a source said.
Under the current measures, many developing countries are exempt from steel safeguards, although there are some exceptions for specific product categories.
This allows for certain loopholes and increased deliveries of certain steel products from countries not covered by safeguards to the EU markets.
For example, earlier this year, sources said there was a sharp increase in HRC deliveries, notably from Indonesia, that could result in either an anti-dumping probe or their inclusion in the “other countries” quota, with the latter appearing more likely.
For example, in January-April 2025, Indonesia supplied 213,152 tonnes of HRC to the EU, compared with just 64,213 tonnes over the same period in 2024. Total HRC deliveries from Indonesia to the EU amounted to 250,908 tonnes in 2024.
EUROFER has suggested the introduction of an increased tariff for above-quota imports of 50% – it is currently 25%.
Tighter measures were necessary to safeguard struggling domestic steel producers in the face of an unprecedented surge of imports., the
The EU has seen a rise in steel imports, particularly from countries with overcapacity and potentially lower production costs. This surge in imports of foreign steel has put downward pressure on prices and reduced the demand for domestically produced steel.
Apparent steel consumption in the EU amounted to 127 million tonnes in 2024, down by 2.3% from 130 million tonnes in 2023 and lower than during the 2020 pandemic year, when it stood at 129 million tonnes, according to EUROFER data.
Real steel consumption shrunk by 3.8% in 2024 to around 132.7 million tonnes, down from around 138 million tonnes in 2023.
While both steel consumption and production in the EU declined, the share of steel imports in the European market has been rising, crowding out local supplies, sources said.
EUROFER data also shows that carbon steel imports to the EU in 2024 amounted to 26.36 million tonnes, up by 6.4% from 2023’s 24.78 million tonnes.
