The European Union on Tuesday finalized a sweeping reduction in duty-free steel imports, cutting overall quota volumes by 47% from 2024 levels and doubling tariffs to 50% for all steel brought in above the new limits, EU officials said. The measures take effect 1 July 2026.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said in a statement that the commission is putting in place the practical arrangements needed to ensure the steel measure operates effectively from day one. “We are providing market participants with predictability through clear and transparent quota distribution rules,” Šefčovič said.
The quotas cover 28 categories of steel products, ranging from rolled steel used in the automotive industry to bars used in construction to reinforce concrete, EU officials said. The allocations are “linked to past trade,” based on trade data from 2022 to 2024.
The EU originally announced the plan last year to slow the influx of Chinese steel products into European industries, particularly after trade was diverted from the United States as a result of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs launched in April 2025.
However, the EU struck separate deals with 12 countries that already have free trade agreements with Brussels, allowing them to sell between 66% and 67% of their historic trade into the bloc on a duty-free basis on average — a one-third reduction rather than the nearly 50% cut applied to other nations. The countries receiving the better terms are the UK, Turkey, South Korea, Indonesia, Egypt, Brazil, Switzerland, North Macedonia, South Africa, Argentina, Ukraine and Singapore. The allocations can be adjusted if shortages arise in particular types of steel.
The new steel safeguards mark the most significant divergence in trade relations between the UK and the EU since the Brexit transition period began at the start of 2020, the Guardian reported.
The UK steel industry had previously warned that the planned quota system would have “devastating” consequences for British steelmakers. The new rules also quash hopes that the EU and the UK could forge a strategic “steel club” alliance under which they would give each other tariff-free trade and work together to counter Chinese imports, officials said.
EU officials said they wanted to create a system that would solve problems for some countries without creating issues for others. The quotas allocated to the 12 FTA countries are based on past trade volumes, officials said, with the ability to adjust if supply shortages arise.