EU opens steel tariff quotas and sets 50% out-of-quota duty from 1 July 2026
EU steel importers and customs face a 50% out-of-quota duty on listed steel once tariff quotas are exhausted, from 1 July 2026
Change
Regulation (EU) 2026/1384, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 17 June 2026 and published in the Official Journal on 24 June 2026, opens annual tariff quotas totalling 18,345,922 tonnes for the steel product categories in Annex I and sets a 50% ad valorem out-of-quota duty, replacing the 2019 safeguard regime and applying from 1 July 2026.
Why it matters
Quota volumes total 18,345,922 tonnes across the Annex I CN/TARIC codes and are administered quarterly. Once a product category's quota is exhausted in a quarter, or where imports do not benefit from a quota, those imports are subject to a 50% ad valorem out-of-quota duty — up from the 25% under the expiring 2019 safeguard — in addition to other applicable duties. From 1 October 2026, importers must provide verifiable evidence of the country of 'melt and pour' at import. The Commission sets country distribution of quotas and, after the first year, the quarterly carry-over rules.
Implications
- — Customs tariff and enforcement units at EU Member State customs authorities must configure tariff-rate-quota allocation and duty-collection systems to enforce the quarterly quota volumes for the listed CN/TARIC codes and apply the 50% out-of-quota duty to uncovered imports from 1 July 2026 — systems that do not enforce the quota and the out-of-quota rate misapply the Regulation.
- — Importers and customs declarants of the covered steel products must secure quota coverage at entry or have the import charged the 50% ad valorem out-of-quota duty on release — entries released without a quota allocation incur the 50% duty at importation, and from 1 October 2026 require melt-and-pour evidence.
- — Trade-compliance and procurement teams sourcing listed steel for Union production must obtain quota allocations or reprice sourcing and contracts against the 50% out-of-quota duty on uncovered imports — uncovered shipments carry materially higher landed cost.
Who is affected
- — Customs tariff and enforcement units at EU Member State customs authorities
- — Importers and customs declarants of steel products into the EU
- — Trade-compliance and procurement teams sourcing steel within the Union
What to watch
- — 1 July 2026 — tariff quotas open and the 50% ad valorem out-of-quota duty applies to covered steel products from this date.
- — 31 August 2026 — Commission to adopt the first implementing act specifying the evidence required to prove the country of 'melt and pour'.
- — 1 October 2026 — importers must provide verifiable evidence of the country of 'melt and pour' at the moment of import.