EU Steel Import Duties Climb to 50 Percent
Importers of steel and scrap across the EU must now certify melt and pour origin as quota volumes shrink.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in International Trade
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At the Ecomondo 2026 conference in Rimini, Italy, held November 5, speakers discussed how EU climate and trade policies are reshaping the European steel market. The measures, including the CBAM definitive phase that began January 1, 2026, affect importers and steel producers across the bloc.
Why it matters
The EU ETS and CBAM are designed to encourage industrial decarbonization while limiting carbon leakage to countries with less stringent environmental rules. Stronger trade measures are meant to protect domestic steel production, changing the cost base for anyone buying or selling steel in Europe.
The new tariff-rate quota system cuts import quota volumes by roughly 47 percent compared with the previous safeguard regime, and the out-of-quota duty climbs from 25 percent to 50 percent. Italy alone imports about 7-8 million metric tons of scrap each year, a volume that shows how exposed national steel supply chains are to these rules.
The players
Ecomondo
An Italian trade fair in Rimini focused on the green economy, waste management and sustainable industry.
siderweb
An Italian steel-sector information and trade platform that organized the conference with RICREA.
RICREA
The Italian consortium responsible for the recycling of steel packaging, co-organizer of the conference.
The details
The melt and pour requirement obliges importers to identify and certify the country where steel was originally melted and poured. The tariff-rate quota system replaces the earlier safeguard approach with smaller quota volumes and a higher duty on imports above quota. Together these steps make it costlier to bring in steel from outside the bloc and more demanding to document origin.
Timeline
January 1, 2026: The definitive phase of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism began.
November 5, 2026: The conference was held during Ecomondo in Rimini, Italy.
2034: The gradual phase-out of free allowances under the EU ETS is scheduled to end.
Market Landscape
The EU is pairing its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which entered its definitive phase on January 1, 2026, with a tariff-rate quota system that cuts import volumes. This combination links climate rules directly to trade protection for domestic steel producers within the bloc.
Steel buyers in the EU should model higher costs for imported material, including the duty rising from 25 percent to 50 percent above quota and added documentation for melt and pour origin. Procurement and finance teams should also track how domestic steel prices respond as import quotas tighten.
The takeaway
Procurement teams should build the melt and pour certification into supplier contracts now, since importers must document origin. Track the out-of-quota duty step-up and the CBAM phase-in schedule through 2034 as a standing input to steel sourcing decisions.
What happens next
The gradual phase-out of free allowances under the EU ETS continues until 2034, so the cost of emissions will keep rising in steps over that period.
Further reading
For broader context on how cross-border rules shape commerce, see International Trade.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Steelorbis.
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