In the January-July period of 2026, the EU-27 exported a total of 5.392 million mt of flat and long steel products to non-EU countries, down 17.2 percent compared to 6.510 million mt recorded in the same period of 2025. In terms of value, these exports amounted to €5.188 billion, down 18.3 percent compared to €6.350 billion in the same period of the previous year.
In particular, exports of flat steel products amounted to 2.886 million mt in the period under review, down 23.3 percent compared to 3.763 million mt in the same period of 2025. The value of flat steel exports decreased by 24.5 percent to €2.993 billion, while the average value per metric ton fell by 1.5 percent, from approximately €1,053/mt to €1,037/mt.
Meanwhile, longs export volumes decreased by 8.8 percent to 2.506 million mt, compared to 2.747 million mt in the January-July 2025 period. The value of these exports fell by 8.1 percent to €2.196 billion, while the average value per metric ton increased by 0.8 percent, from approximately €869/mt to €876/mt.
EU's top five non-EU flat steel export destinations in the January-July period of this year:
| Country | Jan-Jul 2025 (mt) | Jan-Jul 2026 (mt) | Y-o-y change (%) |
| United Kingdom | 860,271 | 724,379 | -15.8% |
| Turkey | 552,022 | 367,073 | -33.5% |
| US | 673,869 | 289,498 | -57.0% |
| Switzerland | 252,298 | 249,439 | -1.1% |
| Mexico | 153,616 | 146,788 | -4.4% |
It is also worth noting the 135.9 percent increase in shipments to Brazil, from 44,950 mt to 106,057 mt.
EU's top five non-EU long steel export destinations in the January-July period of this year:
| Country | Jan-Jul 2025 (mt) | Jan-Jul 2026 (mt) | Y-o-y change (%) |
| United Kingdom | 582,167 | 639,806 | +9.9% |
| Switzerland | 549,992 | 583,741 | +6.1% |
| US | 241,175 | 281,035 | +16.5% |
| Canada | 226,674 | 175,531 | -22.6% |
| Turkey | 124,689 | 129,245 | +3.7% |
SteelOrbis' analysis is based on Eurostat data on EU-27 exports to non-EU countries and cover HS categories 7208-7212 for flat steel products and HS categories 7213-7217 for long steel products.
