Most EU steel import quotas exhausted as Q1 ends, usage exceeds 90% in key segments

Friday, 27 March 2026 15:17:33 (GMT+3)   |   Istanbul

As the first quarter of the EU quota period from January 1 to March 31 is approaching its end, some of the import quotas for certain steel products allocated for South Korea, China, Turkey and Macedonia have already been exhausted, while over 70 percent of quotas for some steel products have been used up, according to the European Commission’s data.

Looking at the exhausted quotas, South Korea has used all of its 38,622 mt quota for electrical steel sheets (3B) and its 37,148 mt quota for metallic coated sheets (4A), while the country has exceeded its 70,318 mt quota for organic coated sheets, with 222 mt of the products waiting for customs clearance. China has exceeded its 126,937 mt and 138,863 mt quotas for metallic coated sheets (4B) and merchant bars and light sections, respectively, with 4,468 mt and 3,386 mt of the respective products waiting at EU ports. In addition, Turkey has exhausted its 93,454 mt quota for rebar, while Macedonia has exceeded its 25,948 mt quota for hollow sections, with 21 mt of the product waiting for customs clearance.

Meanwhile, South Korea has used 95.72 percent and 93.27 percent of its 159,532 mt quota for HRC (1A) and its 164,743 mt quota for metallic coated sheets (4B), respectively, while the UK has used 96.73 percent of its 35,001 mt quota for metallic coated sheets (4A). Turkey has used 92.62 percent of its 105,174 mt quota for merchant bars and light sections, while Macedonia has used 92.95 percent of its 6,955 mt quota for gas pipes.

Regarding the quotas allocated under “other countries”, Taiwan has used 99.95 percent of its 116,832 mt quota for metallic coated sheets (4A), while Vietnam has used 99.99 percent of its 14,924 mt quota for wire rod. In addition, 97.22 percent of the 103,731 mt quota for metallic coated sheets (4B) allocated for other countries has been used up.

Quota usage of the other products can be seen in the table below.


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