Accordingly, the new system maintains the principle of open trade and strengthens engagement with global partners to tackle overcapacity, by

1. limiting tariff-free import volumes to 18.3 million mt a year (a reduction of 47 percent compared to the 2024 steel quotas),
2. doubling the level of out-of-quota duty to 50 percent, compared to the 25 percent under the safeguard, and
3. strengthening the traceability of steel markets by introducing a “Melt and Pour” requirement to prevent circumvention.

The quota volumes of various long steel products can be seen in the table below.

• Merchant Bars and Light Sections    881,735 metric tons
• Reinforcing bars    844,526 metric tons
• Wire Rods    1,569,532 metric tons

Under the new regulation, the EU will maintain free-of-duty tariff quotas equivalent to pre-overcapacity market conditions – calculated based on the 2013 import share of around 13 percent of EU consumption, resulting in an annual total quota volume of 18.3 million mt. The EU’s import volume will decrease as a result of the decline in the quota volume. The quotas will be administered on a quarterly basis, without carry-over between quarters, to avoid market flooding. The quotas will also be allocated per product category based on the share of imports that each product category held over the 2022-24 period. If deemed necessary, the European Commission may implement country-specific quotas or restrictions. Once these quotas are exhausted, a 50 percent tariff will apply, up from the current 25 percent, in line with global tariff levels with an aim to minimize the risk of trade diversion.

The measures will require importers to declare the country of “melt and pour” origin, verifying where the steel was originally produced in liquid form to prevent circumvention.

The Commission will make an assessment at the latest within two years following the adoption of this regulation to evaluate the necessity to adjust the scope of products and, if deemed necessary, it will consider making a legislative proposal to add additional steel products, including products that are made of or contain a significant amount of steel. In addition, the Commission shall evaluate the effectiveness of this regulation before July 1, 2031, and every five years thereafter.

In an official reply, the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) stated that the date for the coming into effect of CBAM on January 1, 2026, is EU Law. It can only change with a legal proposal by the European Commission and the agreement of the European Parliament and the European Council. There is no such proposal on the table.

The upcoming protection framework is expected to counter several structural challenges according to the European Commission:

• The 50 percent US tariffs on steel, which create diversion risks
• Record-high global overcapacity, which undermines EU producers’ profitability
• Dumped imports that erode fair competition and market balance

These elements were cited in the Steel and Metals Action Plan, adopted in March 2025, which underscores the urgency of proactive trade defense strategies.

The EU’s original steel safeguard measures, introduced in 2019, were designed to counter import surges and prevent trade diversion. Following member state requests, the European Commission extended them for two more years in June 2024. Evidence submitted at the time confirmed the measures’ role in preventing serious injury to the EU steel sector.

In addition to the decrease in the quota volumes, the commission has also reduced the cap for the “other countries” on non-alloy and other alloy hot rolled sheets and strips (1A) to 13 percent from the previous 15 percent, while it has introduced a 13 percent cap for cold rolled sheets and strips, a 15 percent cap for non-alloy and other alloy wire rod, angles, shapes and sections of iron or non-alloy steel, a 20 percent cap for metallic coated sheets (4B), tin mill products, non-alloy and other alloy quarto plates, reinforcing bars, a 25 percent cap for metallic coated sheets (4A), organic coated sheets, stainless bars and light sections and a 30 percent cap for electrical sheets (other than goes)(3B), gas pipes, hollow sections, large welded tubes (25B), and other welded pipes.

Meanwhile, the commission will revoke the carry-over of unused volumes from one quota quarter to the next in the categories where significant import pressure is identified, namely non alloy and other alloy hot rolled sheets and strips, non-alloy and other alloy cold rolled sheets, metallic coated sheets (4A), organic coated sheets, tin mill products, non-alloy and other alloy quarto plates, stainless bars and light sections, non-alloy and other alloy wire rod, angles, shapes and sections of iron or non-alloy steel, sheet piling, gas pipes, hollow sections, seamless stainless tubes and pipes, other seamless tubes, and large welded tubes (25B).

There are also some technical adjustments to the functioning of the measure in two product categories – hot rolled flat products and wire rod – to ensure its effectiveness and the preservation of traditional trade flows. For both product categories, the Commission imposed a 15 percent cap per single country over the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) volume initially available in each quarter to ensure that import penetration on the first day of the quarter would be limited in volumes under the residual TRQ, hence reducing the import pressure on the market.

“Recent market developments resulted in a significant decrease of exports of traditional suppliers to the EU under the residual quotas in some categories, while exports from new countries of origin have increased substantially in a short period of time under the same residual quotas. This change of trade flows has created a series of negative effects to the functioning of the measure in some categories,” the statement said for the reason of the technical adjustments.

The Commission will include Mozambique within the scope of the safeguard measure as from July 1, 2024 due to the expiry of the temporary exclusion of Mozambique from the application of safeguard measures defined in the EU-Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement.

The EC reduced the quotas for the other countries in order to adjust the import volumes now that the UK is also included in the quota regime. However, it should be noted that the quota volumes for rebar were also adjusted even though the UK is not one of the countries which are subject to an import quota for the said product.

Accordingly, as regards the quotas for Turkey for the first quarter of 2021, the reinforcing bar quota has been reduced to 58,826 mt from 75,123 mt, and the wire rod quota has been reduced to 76,362 mt from 77,750 mt.

Regarding long steel products, the UK will have a 86,672 mt quota for merchant bar in the first quarter of 2021 and a 87,635 mt quota in the second quarter. The country will be able to sell 133,112 mt of wire rod to the EU in the first quarter and 134,591 mt in the second quarter. As for steel sections, the UK-based producers will have 23,890 mt and 24,145 mt quotas for sections for the first two quarters of 2021, respectively.

Accordingly there will be country-specific quotas available quarterly and not annual allocations. Access to the residual quota for countries that have previously exhausted their country-specific quota will be only permitted to the extent necessary to respond to demand.