The European Commission has announced the details of its new safeguard system and unveiled the product quota volumes.
Accordingly, the new system maintains the principle of open trade and strengthens engagement with global partners to tackle overcapacity, by
- limiting tariff-free import volumes to 18.3 million mt a year (a reduction of 47 percent compared to the 2024 steel quotas),
- doubling the level of out-of-quota duty to 50 percent, compared to the 25 percent under the safeguard, and
- strengthening the traceability of steel markets by introducing a “Melt and Pour” requirement to prevent circumvention.
The quota volumes of various products can be seen in the table below.
| Products | New quota volume (mt) |
| HRC (1A) | 5,198,712 |
| CRC | 1,544,759 |
| Metallic Coated Sheets (4A) | 1,620,686 |
| Metallic Coated Sheets (4B) | 1,238,995 |
| Organic Coated Sheets | 627,871 |
| Quarto Plates | 1,196,903 |
| Merchant Bars and Light Sections | 881,735 |
| Rebars | 844,526 |
| Wire Rod | 1,569,532 |
Meanwhile, welcoming the new system, Axel Eggert, director general of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), said, “The ultimate objective of reducing unfair imports flooding the EU market is to allow our steel plants to operate again at a viable utilization rate of 80-85 percent. Currently, our facilities run at unsustainable utilization levels of around 65 percent, provoking closures and layoffs. One third of European steel demand is supplied by below-cost, high-carbon intensity imports. The measure also provides some of the visibility companies need to pursue their decarbonization investments.”
