Since 2019, the EU has been protecting its own market for certain steel products with import quotas and special access rules. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1581 of 29 July 2025 introduces a number of further adjustments.
Last amendment to EU steel safeguard measures: March 2025
In March 2025, the EU had already decided on a series of changes, including:
- stricter rules for access to residual quotas,
- an adjustment of quota volumes,
- and an update of the list of developing countries.
Concept of quota management remains
The system of tariff quotas with quarterly allocation and carry-over options will remain essentially unchanged. For goods categories 1A, 2, 4A, 5, 6, 7, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25B, it will still not be possible to carry over unused tariff quotas to the next quarter.
Use of tariff quotas for certain countries
If a country-specific tariff quota has been exhausted, additional imports from that country may be made in some product categories within the remaining quota for the same product category. The regulations have been adjusted as follows:
- No access to remaining quotas is available for categories 1A, 2, 3B, 4A, 5, 6, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25B and 26.
- Access with quantity restrictions applies to categories 1B, 3A, 9, 10, 12, 27 and 28.
- For category 4B, no exporting country may use more than 30% of the quantity initially available in the last quarter of the remaining quota for each measure year.
Maximum import volumes for countries without a specific quota
Countries without specific quotas (‘Other countries’) may not exceed the following maximum import quantities per quarter, depending on the category of goods:
- 13% for categories 1A and 2
- 15% for category 16
- 20% for categories 6, 7 and 13
- 25% for categories 4A, 5 and 14
- 30% for categories 3B, 20, 21, 25B and 26
- 40% for category 17
Significant change to product category 17
- The country cap of 15% will be abolished from 1 August 2025.
- Reintroduction of country-specific quotas for the United Kingdom, Turkey and the Republic of Korea.
- Residual quota for suppliers from other countries with a cap of 40%.
