New import control measures to protect the EU steel market

Over recent months, the EU Commission has adopted and developed a new regulatory framework for the steel sector through Regulation (EU) 2026/1384, aimed at strengthening protection of the Union market against the effects of global overcapacity and persistent market distortions. In this context, two new measures that directly affect operators in the supply chain have also been adopted recently.

First, the documentary evidence for proving the “melt and pour” country of certain steel products has been defined.

Second, a provisional safeguard measure has been established on certain imports of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) and certain components for high-efficiency electrical transformers.

Evidence for proving the “melt and pour” country is specified

With the publication of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963, the Commission has specified the documentation that importers may use to demonstrate the country in which the steel was initially produced in liquid form and subsequently cast until reaching its first solid state, the so-called melt and pour country.

The new obligation applies from October 1, 2026, and affects products within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2026/1384.

As a general rule, the reference document will be the Mill Test Certificate (MTC), which must identify both the melt and pour country and the heat number. If the certificate does not contain all the required information, certain supplementary documents may be used.

In addition, a transitional period is established until September 30, 2027, during which, in the absence of an MTC, certain alternative documents that make it possible to prove both pieces of information may be accepted.

What is the “melt and pour” country?

The “melt and pour” country is the country in which the steel or pig iron was initially produced in liquid form in a furnace and subsequently cast until reaching its first solid state.

This first solid state may be a semi-finished product, such as a slab, billet, or ingot, or a finished rolled product.

Therefore, it does not necessarily coincide with the country of origin of the goods or with the country from which they are exported to the EU.

The purpose of this data point is to improve the traceability of steel products entering the Union and to allow the Commission to identify more precisely where imported steel is actually produced, especially in the face of possible operations intended to circumvent the measures adopted against global overcapacity.

Documentary evidence of the “melt and pour” country as of 1 October

Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 already established in Article 4 that, at the time of import, importers of the products included in its Annex I had to provide verifiable evidence of the “melt and pour” country (see the Taric news item from this past June). However, it remained to be specified what documentation had to be submitted to demonstrate it.

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963 now determines how this obligation must be fulfilled and, as of 1 October 2026:

• the melt and pour country of the imported steel must be known;
• the data must be declared using the corresponding TARIC document codes;
• the importer must have verifiable documentation proving both the melt and pour country and the heat number;
• if certain documents are used as alternatives to the Mill Test Certificate (MTC), customs authorities must carry out documentary checks on the information and evidence provided;
• failure to declare the melt and pour country accompanied by adequate evidence may result in rejection of the import.

As a general rule, the importer must submit a Mill Test Certificate (MTC) or mill certificate that includes:

• the melt and pour country;
• the heat number (also known as the cast number) of the imported steel.

Where an MTC exists but does not include the melt and pour country or the heat number, the missing information may be supplemented by other documents.

The Regulation expressly accepts the following as supplementary documentation:

• Invoices
• Delivery notes
• Quality certificates
• Clauses in purchase orders or executed contracts
• Long-term supplier declarations
• Cost accounting and production documents
• Customs documents from the exporting country
• Commercial correspondence
• Production descriptions

These documents must contain the information missing from the mill test certificate.

Transitional period until 30 September 2027

The Regulation establishes a one-year transitional period during which evidence alternative to the Mill Test Certificate will be accepted.

Between 1 October 2026, and 30 September 2027, when the importer cannot provide a Mill Test Certificate, customs authorities may accept the aforementioned documents as stand-alone proof, provided they make it possible to identify both the melt and pour country and the heat number.

Impact on import declarations

The Regulation requires that the melt and pour country be indicated in the H1 declaration using TARIC document codes.

Thus, at the time of clearance, importers must have the melt and pour country and the heat number of the goods, together with the documentation that makes it possible to prove them, even when the steel has subsequently been processed or exported from another country.

The melt and pour country must be declared using one of the codes Y376 to Y388 as “Additional reference,” while the supporting documentation will be identified with codes C131 to C139 in the “Supporting Documents” field:

Provisional safeguard for magnetic steel and electrical transformer components from 25 September

In parallel, the Commission has adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2133, establishing a provisional safeguard measure on certain imports of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES), steel laminations, and cores used in transformers and reactors.

The measure will be applicable between 25 September 2026, and 26 February 2027, while the safeguard investigation currently under way continues. The Commission will publish a final decision that may confirm, modify, or eliminate the duty. However, during the period in which the provisional measure is in force, the duty is payable until the final decision is published.

The safeguard combines tariff-rate quotas allocated by country of origin with a mechanism based on minimum import prices. When the declared price is below the threshold set for each product, a duty equal to the difference between the two amounts must be paid.

Products Affected

• GOES products: codes CN 7225 11 00 and 7226 11 00.
• Steel laminations and cores: code CN 8504 90 13.
• Cores incorporated into certain transformers under headings HS 8504 21 to 8504 34 (CN codes 8504 21 00, 8504 22 10, 8504 22 90, 8504 23 00, 8504 31 21, 8504 31 29, 8504 31 80, 8504 32 00, 8504 33 00, and 8504 34 00)

For cores incorporated into transformers, a duty of €1,140 per metric ton of core is established, with no quota applicable. The operator must declare the weight in metric tons of the transformer cores.

The EU Commission determined that the weight in metric tons of a core in a transformer would be indicated using the unit of measure TNEO. However, this unit may be translated into national units in the Member States.

Price thresholds applicable to the tariff increase

The amount of the provisional safeguard duty applicable to the affected products will be the difference between the price threshold set out in Annex I to the Regulation and the net free-at-Union-frontier price, before customs clearance, if the latter is lower than the former:

No duty will be charged when the import price is equal to or higher than the corresponding threshold.

The quotas are distributed mainly among China, Japan, and South Korea for GOES products, and among Türkiye, China, and the United Arab Emirates for laminations and cores. They will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Commission preliminarily considers that the increase in imports recorded in recent years has caused serious injury to the Union industry, a circumstance that would justify urgent adoption of this temporary measure while the investigation is under way.

What companies should keep in mind

Companies must act quickly and urgently review several elements of their operations:

• Determine exactly which CN codes and transactions are affected and whether any exemption or quota mechanism applies
• Check whether their contracts include price review clauses for legislative or tariff changes and who bears the cost
• Review in-transit shipments that may be subject to the new provisional duty from September 18, 2026.
• Quantify the additional tariff cost of the new measures to size the impact on the income statement.
• Review sales prices and quotes for buyers and suppliers.
• Explore alternative sources of GOES supply in the EU or in countries with trade agreements that are not subject to the safeguard.
• Monitor the final investigation so as to act as soon as its outcome is published.

A new step in the evolution of the European steel regime

The two measures that begin to apply on these dates show how the European Union continues to develop the new regulatory framework for steel introduced in 2026.

While the new melt and pour obligations strengthen the traceability and documentary control of imports, the provisional safeguard on certain magnetic products introduces new protective measures for specific segments of the European steel market.

These are, therefore, new actions that confirm the gradual consolidation of the regime established by Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 and the will of the European institutions to strengthen both the control mechanisms and the trade defense instruments applicable to the steel sector.

More Information

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2133 of September 18, 2026, imposing a provisional safeguard measure with respect to imports of certain flat-rolled products of grain-oriented silicon magnetic steel: Regulation (EU) 2026/2133
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963 of August 28, 2026, on determining the type of evidence that importers must provide to demonstrate the melt and pour country: Regulation (EU) 2026/1963
• Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 17, 2026, on the trade-related negative effects of global overcapacity in the Union steel market: Regulation (EU) 2026/1384
• EU DG TRADE: Commission sets type of evidence to be provided by importers to prove country of ‘melt and pour’ of steel products subject to EU Steel Regulation: EU DG TRADE announcement
• EU DG TRADE: Commission imposes provisional safeguard measures on imports of grain-oriented electrical steel: EU DG TRADE safeguard announcement