50% duty on imports steel plans the EU In case of exceeding certain quotas, according to Handelsblatt’s exclusive information. Brussels react to the growing isolation of the US market and a wave of cheap imports from China.
The EU Commission plans to formally present its plan in Strasbourg today (6.10.25). Consequently, the European Commission also intends to significantly reduce the quotas that can be introduced into the EU. The Commission plans to limit steel imports to 18 million tonnes per year. This corresponds to a reduction in imports in half compared to the reference year 2013. The exact quantities will be determined by product category and can be flexible.
The European Parliament and the special majority of Member States must approve the law in order to bring new protective duties in 2026.
The EU cites global surplus production capacity as an excuse for this protective measure. In addition, US President Donald Trump is increasingly sealing its market and large quantities of Chinese steel are diverted to the EU.
The draft states that taking into account the level of duties in the steel sector in other important markets, seems appropriate to ‘Set the duty out of quota to 50% to minimize the risk of diversion of trade’. EU steelmaker ‘Facing significant challenges related to trade’continues. “These include, above all, significant and persistent pressure on imports, both in terms of tumors and in terms of prices, resulting from unsustainable global surplus production capacity, which adversely affects the economic performance of EU steelworks.”
EU production has been reduced and the current utilization of production capacity is well below profitable levels, according to the letter.
The EU is currently imposing 25% import duties on steel. They were introduced in 2018 in response to US duties imposed by Donald Trump during his first term. Due to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), this measure was temporary and expires in June 2026. Recently, duties had a slight effect because duty -free quotas had increased several times.
Negotiations with commercial partners
Now, the European Commission has found a way to extend the measure with the new draft legislation and to significantly increase the tariff rate. This follows the course already announced by the US and Canada: these two EU trading partners have also introduced a 50% duty to steel in recent weeks.
The draft also reveals that the EU plans to negotiate with its commercial partners along with the increase in duties. The Union wants to ensure that its duties remain compatible with the WTO.
Support comes from the European Parliament: “Both Trump and China are pushing us to the walls. We cannot remain idle as China is flooding our market with subsidized cheap steel, especially in the field of steel, while our industry is already struggling to maintain its competitiveness. “, said MEP Dennis Radke (CDU) in Handelsblatt.