According to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2025-2026/Q4 2025 Report from the Economic Committee of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), total steel imports into the EU, including semis, increased by 0.3 percent year on year in the first eight months of 2025. During the same period, the EU’s imports of flat steel fell by four percent year on year, while imports of long steel increased by 14 percent.
In the January-August period, Turkey, South Korea, China, India, Ukraine, Taiwan and Indonesia were the main countries of origin for finished steel imports into the EU. The first five countries accounted for 53 percent of total EU finished steel imports in the first eight months. Turkey became the leading exporting country to the EU, with a share of 17 percent, followed by South Korea with 12 percent and China, India and Ukraine each with eight percent.
In the first eight months of 2025, imports of finished products from Indonesia rose sharply by 206 percent, while imports from Turkey, Ukraine, China and South Korea went up by 23 percent, 16 percent, 19 percent and five percent, respectively. Imports from India dropped by 45 percent, while Taiwan exported 16 percent fewer steel products to the EU.
In the given period, imports increased for all long products, including merchant bar, heavy section, wire rod and rebar, while imports of hot rolled wide strip decreased by nine percent and cold rolled sheet imports went down by five percent, all year on year.
