EU steel import quotas 2026: the 50% duty and the proof of melt and pour

What changed on 1 July 2026

The old safeguard was a follow-up rule of the European Commission (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/159). It ended on 30 June 2026. The new law is permanent. The European Parliament and the Council adopted it on 17 June 2026, and it applies from 1 July 2026. It uses three tools:

• A yearly quota per product group. The quota year starts on 1 July and ends on 30 June (Article 2(2)).
• An extra duty of 50% of the value above the quota (Article 2(3)), on top of the normal customs duty, says the explanation at the start of the law (recital 16). The old rate was 25%.
• Proof of the melt and pour country for every import of the steel products under the quotas (the list in Annex I), since 1 October 2026 (Articles 4(1) and 14).

The rules also apply to countries with a trade agreement or other EU trade preferences (Article 2(4)). Steel from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway is exempt (Article 2(5)).

The dates and their status

Each yearly quota opens in four quarters. Customs hands it out in the order in which customs declarations are accepted: first come, first served. Until 30 June 2027, unused quota goes to the next quarter (Article 3). The Commission may change the total between 14.4 and 22.2 million tonnes a year (Article 8(1)).

How much quota your country has

The Commission splits each quota over countries in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1457, for 1 July to 31 December 2026. The normal EU rules of origin decide which quota your steel uses (Article 4 of that implementing regulation). All other countries share one quota. Each quota has a number in the EU quota database (order number), where you can check the balance.

For Türkiye and eight other partners, the 50% applies under their trade agreement (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1930). For the importer the result is the same. According to the European Commission, steel melted or cast in Russia or Belarus is kept out of every quota (Access2Markets).

Proof of melt and pour for steel under the quotas

Melt and pour is the country where the raw steel was first made liquid and then cast into its first solid form (Article 4(1)). Slab melted in one country and rolled in another can have an origin that differs from its melt and pour country. The rules for the proof are in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963 of 28 August 2026:

1. Main document: the mill test certificate, with the melt and pour country and the batch number of the melt (heat number) (Article 1(1)).
2. Gaps in the certificate: invoices, delivery notes, supplier declarations, production records or customs papers from the exporting country can complete it (Article 1(2)).
3. Certificate unavailable: until 30 September 2027 those papers may serve as proof on their own, if they show the country and the heat number (Articles 1(3) and 3).
4. In the declaration: the country is stated with document codes from the EU online customs tariff (TARIC). If it is missing, customs rejects the import (Article 2).

Ask your mill for a mill test certificate per heat, and use the same heat numbers on the invoice and packing list. A trader who buys from a mill that rolls steel melted elsewhere (a re-roller) asks for the certificate of the mill that made the first solid block (the slab or billet).

What it costs: the 50% duty plus the carbon border levy

The carbon border levy is a charge on the carbon dioxide (CO2) released when the steel was made. It applies to importers of more than 50 tonnes a year of iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers and cement together. One certificate covers one tonne of CO2. For 2026 imports the price is the average per quarter at the auctions of the EU emissions trading system: €75.36, €75.28 and €82.32 for the first three quarters. The fourth quarter follows on 4 January 2027. Sales start on 1 February 2027, and the first yearly declaration is due by 30 September 2027.

Your own carbon figure: the CBAM cost calculator, also as a Turkish version (SKDM maliyet hesaplayıcı).

Who is the importer, and who pays

The importer is the company in whose name the customs declaration is filed (the importer of record). It pays the 50% duty, gives the melt and pour proof and, above 50 tonnes a year, needs EU permission to import goods under the carbon border levy (authorised CBAM declarant). Your sales terms decide who that is. With delivery at your mill or port, for example ex works (EXW) or free on board (FOB), your EU buyer is the importer. If you deliver with the duties paid (delivered duty paid, DDP), you are the importer. EU buyers now ask for the mill test certificate and a clear rule on who pays above the quota. See importer of record in the EU.

How a Dutch BV helps as the importer

A mill or trader from Turkey, India, the Gulf states, China or Vietnam can set up its own Dutch BV as the EU importer. That company:

1. has its own EU customs registration number (EORI number) and files declarations in its own name, with a customs broker;
2. puts import value added tax (import VAT) in its VAT return with a Dutch licence (Article 23 licence), so the cash stays in the company;
3. applies for the status of authorised CBAM declarant and buys its own certificates;
4. collects the mill test certificates and gives the proof with each shipment;
5. can store steel in a warehouse under customs control (a customs warehouse). Quota and duty apply on release for the EU market, so the release date decides which quarter’s quota it uses.

A Dutch BV costs from €2,950 excl. VAT, a holding with an operating company from €4,950 excl. VAT (company formation in the Netherlands). Per country: Turkey, Turkish exporters to the EU, India, Gulf exporters, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Questions steel exporters ask

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 of 17 June 2026 on the negative trade-related effects of global overcapacity on the Union steel market: eur-lex.europa.eu
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1457 of 29 June 2026 on the distribution of the tariff quotas: eur-lex.europa.eu
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1930 of 4 August 2026 on bilateral safeguard measures: eur-lex.europa.eu
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963 of 28 August 2026 on the evidence of the country of melt and pour: eur-lex.europa.eu
• European Commission, Access2Markets, New EU safeguards on steel imports from third countries (30 June 2026): trade.ec.europa.eu
• European Commission, tariff quota consultation (balance per order number): ec.europa.eu
• European Commission, Price of CBAM certificates: taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu; CBAM definitive regime: taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
• Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 amending the CBAM Regulation, Articles 6(1), 20(1) and 22(1): eur-lex.europa.eu

Last reviewed: 21 October 2026.