EU Council adopts mandate for new steel import rules

The Council of the European Union has announced that it has officially adopted its negotiating mandate for a new regulation aimed at protecting the EU steel industry from the effects of global overcapacity, marking a key step towards strengthening trade protection measures against a surge in cheap imports.

In accordance with the agreed mandate, the Council supports an enhanced protective system designed to limit the influx of steel products into the EU market. The new approach retains tariff rate quotas (TRQs) as the main tool, while tightening conditions to prevent quota circumvention and sudden import surges.

Council adjustments

The Council adjusted the rules for the administration of tariff quotas to provide greater flexibility, allowing unused tariff quota volumes in one quarter to be transferred to the next quarter during the same annual tariff rate period. the quota. The Council also added a new element to consider when amending quotas, ensuring that attention is drawn to potential significant price increases that seriously undermine the competitiveness of processing industries.

Meanwhile, the Council clarified that the total cost of adjusted quotas should be limited and remain in the range of 15.2 to 22.2 million tons.

In order to avoid circumvention and increase the transparency of the supply chain, significant clarifications have been made to the Council regarding the implementation of melting and casting:

• the requirement for importers to provide proof of the country of melting and casting will apply from October 1, 2026.
• within two years, the Commission will have to assess whether the country of melting and casting should be determined as the basis for allocating tariff quotas for a particular country If the Commission concludes that this is necessary, it will submit a new legislative proposal in this regard

The date for assessing the possibility of expanding the scope of the regulation proposed by the EU has been postponed from two years to 18 months. It also ensures that the European Commission initiates an appropriate consultation process with stakeholders before October 1, 2026.

In addition, the period of the first general review of the regulatory impact on the steel market and on EU interests was shortened to four years from the effective date, with subsequent assessments every two years thereafter.