After several years of gradual tightening of the European Union's regulatory framework to protect the steel market, the first critical problems of the EU's steel import restriction systems are beginning to become clear. In an official statement, Assofermet - the association representing the Italian iron and steel sector - expressed strong concerns about the lack of protection for downstream sectors of the supply chain, calling for a radical and timely change of approach by European institutions.
According to the association, public debate has remained for too long focused almost exclusively on the needs of upstream steel producers, ignoring the side effects that tariffs, quotas and increased bureaucratic compliance create for downstream processors. distribution and end users, starting with the metalworking sector.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis , on July 1, 2026, with the expiration of the current protective regime for steel, new and significantly more restrictive regulations for imports into the European Union will come into force. The measures, approved by the European Parliament and the Council and currently awaiting publication in the Official Journal of the EU, would introduce an annual duty-free quota of approximately 18.3 million tonnes of steel products. Volumes exceeding this quota will be subject to a 50 percent duty. Added to this review is the obligation to monitor the country of origin of steel melting and casting, as well as the economic impact of the CBAM, which came into full force on 1 January 2026.
Risk of unbalanced protection
Assofermet said it recognizes the need to protect the European steel industry as “understandable and legitimate” in an international context altered by a marked global production surplus potential and distortions created by the Chinese production system, but he noted that the real underlying problem is the imbalance of the measures taken.
Protecting only upstream producers without supporting the companies that process and buy steel penalizes processors and distribution by:
- sharply increasing the cost of raw materials;
- gradually reducing sourcing options internationally markets;
- a massive bureaucratic and administrative burden that is becoming increasingly difficult to bear.
The Association emphasized that processing and distribution represent the main added industrial value of the European
