The EU's New Steel Import Regime (July 2026): Quotas, the 50% Duty and What It Means for Supply from Türkiye

Published October 2026  ·  9 min read  ·  Buyer's Guide  ·  Trade & Regulation

On 30 June 2026, the EU steel safeguard expired after eight years. The next day a permanent import regime replaced it, and it is much stricter. Duty-free quotas are almost half the size, and any steel that arrives after a quota is used up now pays 50% duty instead of 25%. For EU buyers of steel, timing, origin and product choice now affect landed cost as much as the mill price does. This guide explains how the new system works, what Türkiye can still ship duty-free, and how to plan your purchases.

What Changed: Safeguard vs New Regime

How the Quotas Work

Each of the 26 product categories has an annual tariff-rate quota (TRQ). The annual volume is divided into four equal quarterly tranches. Imports are charged against the quota in the order in which customs declarations are accepted, so first come, first served. Steel cleared within the quota pays the normal duty, which is zero for most origins including Türkiye. Steel cleared after the quota is used up pays 50%.

Inside each category, the volume is split into several pools:

• Country-specific quotas for suppliers that had at least 5% of EU imports of that category in 2022–2024.
• FTA quotas for free-trade partners, including Türkiye. A partner can use these after its own country quota is used up. About 9.15 Mt, roughly half of the total, is reserved for FTA partners.
• "Other countries" quota for all remaining origins.
• Residual quotas, open only to FTA partners in some categories.

Carry-over: In the first year (1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027), unused volume in one quarter moves to the next. From the second year, the Commission may review carry-over product by product.

Annual quotas for selected categories

Source: European Commission quota volumes as reported by SteelOrbis, April 2026. Volumes cover all origins combined.

What Türkiye Can Still Ship Duty-Free

Türkiye is in the FTA group, and it keeps country-specific quotas in key categories. Two examples show the change:

The "maximum accessible" figure assumes Türkiye uses the entire shared pool, which is unlikely, because other FTA partners draw on the same volume. In practice, the Turkish country quota is the dependable duty-free volume. Under the safeguard, Türkiye fully used its HRC quota and almost all of its cold-rolled and galvanized allocations in the third quarter of 2025. Quarterly tranches for popular categories can be exhausted early in the quarter.

The Melt-and-Pour Rule

Importers must now declare the country where the steel was first melted and cast into its first solid form, as well as the usual customs origin. The rule targets steel melted in one country and rolled or coated in another. For now the declaration is for information. From 1 October 2027, the Commission must take melt-and-pour data into account when it sets the country breakdown of the quotas.

For buyers, this means you need the mill certificate chain back to the melt shop, not just the final processor. Turkish producers with their own electric arc furnaces have an advantage here. The same data also supports your CBAM declaration.

What It Does to Your Landed Cost

The 50% duty is charged on the customs value, so for commodity steel it changes the price completely. A simplified example for hot-rolled coil:

Illustrative figures only. Prices, customs value and CBAM costs vary by product, mill and date.

No price discount can absorb a 50% duty. In practice, buyers either ship inside the quota or not at all. This makes quota timing a core part of procurement planning.

Which Products Are Not Affected?

The regime covers the 26 categories of the former safeguard: flat products, long products, wire rod, sheet piling, railway material and tubes. Many processed and fabricated steel products are not in these categories, including:

This is where Türkiye's manufacturing base is strongest. If your bill of materials includes processed parts, buying them finished from Türkiye avoids quota risk on the raw steel. Two points to watch: CBAM already applies to HS 7308, 7318 and 7326, and EU steelmakers are lobbying to extend the quota regime to downstream products in future reviews. Always confirm your product's classification with our HS codes guide and your customs broker.

How to Plan Steel Purchases Under the New Regime

• Check the quota balance before you order. The EU publishes live balances in the TARIC quota consultation tool. Look up the order number for your category and origin.
• Time arrivals early in the quarter. Quarterly tranches open on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. Shipments that clear in the first weeks have the best chance of getting quota.
• Agree who carries the duty risk. State in the contract what happens if the quota is exhausted on arrival: cancellation, price renegotiation or delivery in the next quarter.
• Get melt-and-pour documentation with every shipment: mill test certificate showing the melt shop, plus the processor's certificate if the steel was rolled or coated elsewhere.
• Combine quota and CBAM planning. The same mill data covers both. Read CBAM in 2026: What Importing Steel from Türkiye Really Costs.
• Consider buying processed instead of raw. Where your products allow it, fabricated, cut or machined parts may sit outside the quota categories.
• Spread origin risk. Do not rely on a single shared FTA pool for critical volumes.

How Steeling.net Helps

Steeling.net works with selected Turkish mills and manufacturers. For commodity products such as structural sections, rebar, hollow sections and coils, we help you plan shipments around quota periods and provide mill certificates with melt-shop information. For fabricated and machined parts, we connect you with Turkish manufacturers that deliver finished components to your drawing, outside the 26 quota categories. Read Source Metal from Türkiye to see how the process works.

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