Steel: European Parliament adopts new framework to ensure the survival of the EU industry

Renew Europe welcomes today's adoption by the European Parliament of the regulation addressing the negative trade-related effects of global steel overcapacity on the Union steel market, a crucial step ahead of the expiry of current temporary safeguard measures on 30 June and providing the conditions for a competitive, decarbonising EU steel industry.

The regulation establishes a system of tariff-free import quotas set at 18.3 million tonnes per year, with a 50% duty on volumes above that threshold. It also introduces the melt & pour information rule, which determines steel origin based on where it is first melted and poured, improving traceability. The regulation further provides for early assessments to review the products’ scope, the first to be completed by 31 December 2026, as well as a joint declaration by the three institutions committing to the phasing-out of all imports of Russian steel. A close eye on the effects of the regulation on the downstream sector is also foreseen.

Renew Europe also pushed strongly for the inclusion of a more robust reference in support of Ukraine's steel industry. A collapse of the Ukrainian steel industry would be an immense catastrophe, not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe. Our trade policy must help keep the Ukrainian economy alive while Ukrainians are defending Europe.

Renew Europe MEP Karin Karlsbro (Liberalerna, Sweden), Parliament's rapporteur on this file, stated: 

The regulation will apply from 1 July 2026, when the current temporary safeguard measures expire.