The European Commission has announced that it has introduced definitive safeguard measures on the import of certain ferroalloys (namely ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, ferrosilicomanganese and ferrosiliconmagnesium), a significant step to protect the EU industry, which employs around 1,800 workers. The decision caps an 11-month investigation that found rising imports have severely hurt ferroalloy producers in the bloc.
TRQs designed to balance protection and security of supply
The guarantee introduces country-by-country tariff quotas (TRQs) for each type of ferroalloy, limiting the volume of duty-free imports. According to the Commission's draft:
- imports within the quota enter the EU duty-free,
- imports above the quota can still be imported duty-free if their price exceeds the established threshold
- if the price is below the threshold, an additional duty equal to the difference is applied.
Measures apply to all third countries, including Norway and Iceland, which have always been excluded from steel import measures. Brussels will hold three-month consultations with both countries and monitor supply chain impacts to avoid disrupting the wider European metals value chain.
Defense responds to rising imports and global overcapacity
An investigation launched in December 2024 confirmed that imports of ferroalloys grew by 17 percent between 2019 to 2024, while the EU
