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[Ferro-Alloys.com] Outokumpu welcomes the agreement on safeguard measures to protect the European steel industry

The European Commission, Parliament and Council have reached an agreement on steel safeguard measures in their trilogue negotiations. The agreed text will now be considered for formal adoption by the European Parliament and the Council over the coming weeks, with the aim to ensure its entry into force on July 1, 2026, when the current steel safeguard measures expire.

Outokumpu supports the new system that reduces the quotas by approximately 47% compared to the 2024 quotas and increases the out-of-quota tariff to 50%. Within six months of the entry into force of the regulation, the Commission will assess whether the scope should be extended to cover additional steel products, including tubes and pipes, certain types of wire and forged bars, and may propose legislative amendments where appropriate.

“Outokumpu believes that the new safeguard measures will further protect the European steel industry from global overcapacity, unfair competition and carbon leakage. Low demand, coupled with a high share of low-priced imports from Asia and 50% tariffs in the United States, have led to a decline in capacity utilization by European producers. We are in favor of free trade, but it must be fair, which has not been the case with heavily subsidized imports of the steel industry from Asia into Europe and the circumvention of existing safeguard measures. European stainless steel has the smallest carbon footprint in the world. While the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism evens out the situation, safeguards are also needed,” says Kati ter Horst, President and CEO of Outokumpu.

Country of origin must be firmly defined, and carry-over mechanism must be limited

Outokumpu supports the fact that the regulation introduces provisions concerning the “melted and poured” principle to avoid circumvention and increase supply chain transparency. This principle identifies the country where the steel was first produced in liquid form in a furnace and then cast into its first solid shape.

“Outokumpu supports the Commission’s definition of the country of origin according to where it is melted and poured – in this way, producers would not be able to circumvent the quotas by further processing steel in another country. We want to make sure the origin of the steel can be verified in the best available method such as a mill test certificate, already in use in documenting the chemical and mechanical properties of materials. We look forward to the Commission taking into account this existing method when deciding on the verification,” notes Kati ter Horst.

During the first year of application, unused import quotas may be carried over from one quarter to the next for all product categories. Outokumpu welcomes the fact that from the second year onwards, the Commission will determine whether such quarterly carry-over should be allowed for specific product categories, based on certain criteria.

• [Editor:tianyawei]