In the January-November period this year, China’s finished steel exports amounted to 107.717 million mt, hitting an historical high, up 6.7 percent year on year, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC).
Against this background, on December 12 China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and General Administration of Customs (GACC) jointly announced the new export regulations for implementing export quotas on 300 items of steel products, covering pig iron, scrap, semi-finished steel, flat steel, bar, section steel, wire rod, and steel pipes, etc., effective as of January 1, 2026. This means that steel products will be subject to export licensing, while earlier they were not.
Items 1-32: pig iron, ferroalloy, scrap and semi-finished steel.
Items 33-224: hot rolled/cold rolled flat steel in coil or sheet, bar, sections, and wire products.
Items 225-300: Steel rail, seamless/welded steel pipes and pipe fittings
This move signals that China’s steel export policy is officially shifting from “unrestricted exports” to a new stage of “proactive regulation and license-based management”.
Application basis: enterprises must apply the export quota with the export contract and the “Product Quality Inspection Certificate” issued by the manufacturers.
China’s “emergency” intervention is not a simple export curb, according to Chinese officials. It is designed to safeguard domestic supply-chain stability, while pressing the industry to upgrade toward high-end, green production, and systematically hedging against potential international trade frictions.
Imposing export restrictions on raw materials could safeguard domestic supply and ensure cost stability, according to official statements. Increasing the hidden costs of primary products may push forward industrial transformation. Meanwhile, the move may guide investments toward high-end products. Moreover, the control on export volumes may reduce low-priced dumping, which will avoid antidumping and countervailing investigations and gain more leverage in trade negotiations. The strengthening of the management of scrap steel could reduce reliance on imported iron ore and secure resource security for the steel industry.
In the short term, the move will increase export costs and uncertainties for steel exports. However, in the long term, the move will strongly promote the development of China's steel industry towards internal structural optimization and external value chain enhancement, Chinese officials stated.
“I see the major impact will be on billets. It could also result in some shipment delays or cancellations for materials already booked for Q1 [shipments],” a Singapore-based trader said. In the January-October period this year, China’s semi-finished steel exports amounted to 11.9 million mt, up 157 percent year on year.