(1)

On 25 June 2026, the Steel Regulation entered into force, opening tariff quotas of 18 345 922 tonnes with respect to certain steel products (‘the product concerned’), covering 26 product categories, and laying down an out-of-quota duty at the rate of 50 % ad valorem.

(2)

The Steel Regulation provides for the establishment of a coherent and comprehensive framework to tackle the negative trade-related effects of global overcapacity on the Union steel market.

(3)

On 29 June 2026, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1457 (2) distributing tariff quotas opened under the Steel Regulation.

(4)

The Steel Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt, by way of derogation from Regulation (EU) 2019/287 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and where possible, implementing acts applying bilateral safeguard measures on imports of products within the scope of the Steel Regulation originating in those countries with which the Union has concluded a free trade agreement.

(5)

On 22 June 2026, the Commission notified Switzerland, Serbia, North Macedonia, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Jordan, and Türkiye on 30 June, that it may take appropriate bilateral safeguard measures under the conditions laid down in the applicable bilateral agreements for the products covered by the Steel Regulation.

(6)

Those agreements allow for bilateral safeguard measures in the given circumstances.

(7)

Applicable bilateral agreements with Morocco (4), Jordan (5), Israel (6), Tunisia (7) and Türkiye (8) allow for the application of bilateral safeguard measures where any product is imported in such increased quantities and under such conditions to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to domestic producers of like or directly competitive products in the territory of one of the contracting parties or serious disturbances in any sector of the economy.

(8)

Applicable bilateral agreements with Albania (9), North Macedonia (10), Bosnia and Herzegovina (11) and Serbia (12) allow for the application of bilateral safeguard measures where any product of one party is being imported into the territory of the other party in such increased quantities and under such conditions to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to domestic producers of like or directly competitive products in the territory of the contracting party or serious disturbances in any sector of the economy.

(9)

Applicable bilateral agreements with Türkiye (13) and Switzerland (14) allow for the application of bilateral safeguard measures if serious disturbances arise in any sector of the economy or if difficulties arise which could bring about serious deterioration in the economic situation of a region.

(10)

The product concerned is certain steel products belonging to the 26 product categories defined within the scope of Annex I of the Steel Regulation. This scope is the same as the scope of Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/159 (15) (‘the definitive steel safeguard Regulation’).

(11)

In Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/1013 (16) (‘the provisional steel safeguard Regulation’), the Commission found that the 26 product categories produced by the Union producers are like or directly competing with the product concerned. Both the domestic and imported products possess the same fundamental physical, technical and chemical characteristics. They serve identical purposes and are offered through similar or identical sales channels to customers who may acquire them from both domestic and foreign suppliers. Accordingly, there exists a significant level of competition between the product concerned and the one produced by Union producers.

(12)

The Commission has also found in the the provisional steel safeguard regulation that there is an important interrelation and strong competition between products classified in different product categories and also between products at different production stages within certain categories as some of the categories contain the main raw or input material to produce other products in other product categories. As a consequence, given this level of interrelation, competitive pressure can easily be shifted from one product to the other.

(13)

Based on information from Eurostat, the Commission has carried out an analysis of the quantities imported and has been able to establish the existence of an increase in imports of the product concerned over the period 2023-2025 (‘the period considered’). Exceptionally, rather than relying on a longer historical period, the Commission based its assessment on the period 2023-2025, as the years 2021 and 2022 were not representative of normal market conditions. Trade flows during those years were significantly affected by the post-COVID-19 economic recovery, with market developments largely driven by exceptionally high prices and a strong rebound in demand until the second half of 2022.

(14)

Total imports of the product concerned have developed as follows:

Table 1

Imports and import market share

(15)

In overall terms, imports of the product concerned increased in absolute terms by 15 % over the period 2023-2025, with import market share increasing from 32 % to 36 %.

(16)

The Commission also assessed the individual import trends into the Union of the product concerned originating from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia.

(17)

Imports of the product concerned from these countries have developed as follows:

Table 2

Imports from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia

(18)

Imports from North Macedonia increased steadily by 16 % over the period considered, imports from Serbia increased by 14 %.

(19)

Between 2024 and 2025, imports of the product concerned originating in Albania increased by 8 %. As imports from Albania fluctuated over the period considered (2023-2025), the Commission considered it appropriate, exceptionally, to complement its assessment by examining a longer-term import trend. Although imports declined between 2023 and 2024, this followed high import levels in 2023. The longer-term analysis also showed that imports had reached exceptionally high levels in 2022. It further confirmed that the current level of imports is higher than in all years except the peak year of 2022 and is almost ten times higher than the levels recorded in 2019 and 2020. These developments indicate that import pressure intensified during the most recent period, despite the temporary decline observed between 2023 and 2024. At the moment of the imposition of these safeguard measures and based on the longer-term import trend, the product concerned is being imported in increased quantities.

(20)

Between 2024 and 2025, imports of the product concerned originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina increased by 24 %. As imports from Bosnia and Herzegovina also fluctuated over the period considered (2023-2025), the Commission considered it appropriate, in line with the approach followed for Albania, to complement its assessment by examining a longer-term import trend. This analysis showed that imports have generally decreased over the longer period. In particular, compared with the levels recorded before 2020, imports have significantly declined, despite the recent increase observed between 2024 and 2025. On the basis of this assessment, the Commission concluded that the product concerned originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not being imported in increased quantities.

(21)

In view of these figures, the Commission concluded that the product concerned is being imported in increased quantities, satisfying this condition in the relevant bilateral agreements with Albania, Israel, Jordan, North Macedonia, Morocco, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia and Türkiye.

(22)

In order to assess the economic situation of the Union steel industry, the Commission issued questionnaires to the known Union steel producers to collect information on certain injury indicators for the product concerned during the period considered.

(23)

The Commission received questionnaire replies from members of the three known Union industry associations (Eurofer, ESTA, CET). The Commission consolidated the data directly received from Union producers individually and then merged the association members’ replies, which constituted the basis for the assessment of the economic situation of the Union industry.

(24)

The evolution of the injury indicators between the years 2023 and 2025 is shown in Table 3 below:

Table 3

Production, production capacity, capacity utilisation, consumption, sales, market share, profitability and employment

(25)

The production volume showed a steadily decreasing trend and dropped by 4 % between 2023 and 2025. Production capacity decreased dramatically between 2023 and 2025 by 15 % with even more pronounced drop between 2024 and 2025, when it decreased by 11 %. Capacity usage increased by 8 % between 2023 and 2025 due to the significant loss in production capacity, but remains at an unsustainable low level.

(26)

The sales volume to domestic unrelated customers decreased by 6 % between 2023 and 2025. Similarly domestic market share decreased by 4 % between 2023 and 2025. The Union industry’s sales to the domestic unrelated customers were slightly profitable in 2023 and 2024, but became loss making in 2025.

(27)

Employment decreased significantly between 2023 and 2025 by 17 %. First it dropped by 19 % between 2023 and 2024, then gently increased by 2 % between 2024 and 2025.

(28)

Considering the above, the Commission concluded that the Union industry is suffering serious injury within the meaning of Article 12 of the Agreement concluded between the European Coal and Steel Community and the Republic of Turkey on trade in products covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, the Association Agreements with Morocco (17), Tunisia (18), Jordan (19) and Israel (20), and the Stabilisation and Association Agreements with Albania (21), North Macedonia (22) and Serbia (23). This is evidenced in particular by a decrease in production, production capacity, sales, market share, profitability and employment during the period concerned. Under these circumstances, it is also concluded that serious disturbances exist in the steel sector within the meaning of Article 26 of the Agreement concluded between the European Economic Community and the Swiss Confederation in 1972 and Article 60 of the Additional Protocol signed on 23 November 1970, annexed to the Agreement establishing the Association between the European Economic Community and Turkey.

(29)

The Commission examined whether the imports in increased quantities caused serious injury to the Union producers or serious disturbances in the steel sector.

(30)

It is recalled that the product produced by the Union producers is like or directly competing with the product concerned. It has the same basic characteristics, the same uses and is sold via similar or identical sales channels.

(31)

As concluded in Section 4, the Union industry has suffered in terms of loss of domestic sales, decreased production, production capacity, market share and employment, resulting in a negative level of profit that is unsustainable. At the same time, imports of the product concerned increased significantly and took away market shares previously held by Union producers. The market share of imports, overall, grew from 32 % to 36 %.

(32)

The Commission therefore established that there is a causal link between the increased imports of the product concerned and the serious injury suffered by the Union producers.

(33)

In view of the analysis set out above, the Commission concluded that the conditions laid down in the relevant bilateral agreements are fulfilled. The assessment of relevant economic indicators demonstrated that the imports caused serious injury to the domestic producers of like or directly competitive products, and serious disturbances exist in the steel sector. That serious injury and market disturbance were not caused by those imports alone, but it is sufficient that they contributed to the injury and disturbance together with all other imports.

(34)

The Commission therefore considers it appropriate to remedy the serious injury and market disturbance by way of bilateral safeguard measures on the product concerned.

(35)

The level of tariffs in the steel sector in other key markets requires that such bilateral safeguard measures take the form of an out-of-quota duty at the rate of 50 % ad valorem. The out-of-quota duty of 50 % ad valorem should apply upon exhaustion of the tariff quotas distributed under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1457, both in the form of country specific quotas or when these countries can still access tariff quotas opened under competition.

(36)

The Commission determined that such form of measure would allow the Union industry to regain its market share and competitiveness and allow the continuation of imports under the bilateral agreements with the least possible disturbance.

(37)

In view of the need to ensure a swift application of bilateral safeguards to materialise the effective and comprehensive implementation of the Steel Regulation, the provisions of this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication.

(38)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Trade Barriers Committee,