1. EU Adopts New Steel Regulation
o The Council of the European Union formally
adopted a new steel market regulation on 8
June 2026.
o The regulation forms part of the EU's 2025 Steel and Metals Action Plan.
2. Implementation Date
o The new framework will take effect from 1 July 2026.
o It will replace the current EU steel
safeguard measure, which expires on 30
June 2026.
3. Concerns for Recycling Industry
o The Bureau
of International Recycling (BIR) highlighted that steel trade
restrictions can significantly affect global markets for recycled steel and
ferrous scrap.
4. Importance of Recycled Steel
o Recycled steel is a globally traded
secondary raw material.
o It is a key input for low-carbon
steelmaking, especially through Electric
Arc Furnace (EAF) production.
5. Reduced Duty-Free Import Quotas
o The new regulation establishes a revised Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ)
system.
o Annual duty-free steel import quotas are
set at 18.3 million tonnes.
o This represents a 47% reduction compared
with 2024 safeguard quota levels.
6. Higher Out-of-Quota Tariffs
o Imports exceeding quota limits will face a
50% tariff.
o This is double the 25% duty applied under
the previous safeguard regime.
7. Introduction of “Melt and Pour”
Requirement
o The regulation introduces a “melt and pour” origin rule.
o Steel imports must identify the country
where the steel was originally melted and poured.
o The measure aims to improve transparency
and prevent circumvention of trade rules.
8. Further Compliance Rules Expected
o The European Commission is expected to
issue an implementing act by 31
August 2026.
o It will specify the documentary evidence
required to prove compliance with the “melt and pour” requirement.
9. Stakeholder Consultation Open
o The European Commission has launched a
consultation running from 4
June to 2 July 2026.
o Stakeholders are invited to suggest
practical methods for verifying melt-and-pour origin.
10. BIR Encourages Industry Participation
o BIR has urged recyclers, scrap traders,
processors, and recycled steel producers to participate in the consultation.
o The aim is to ensure verification
requirements remain practical, proportionate, and compatible with existing
recycling trade practices.
11. Commitment to Circular Economy
o BIR, together with Recycling Europe,
intends to engage with EU institutions during implementation.
o The organization supports policies that
promote circular economy objectives while maintaining efficient trade flows.
·
The
regulation tightens EU steel import controls through lower quotas and higher
tariffs.
·
New
origin-tracing requirements may increase compliance costs and administrative
burdens.
·
Global
scrap and recycled steel trade flows could be affected by changes in sourcing
and documentation requirements.
·
The
outcome of the consultation may shape future standards for tracing
recycled-content steel in international trade.
·
The
measure reflects the EU's attempt to balance industrial protection, trade
enforcement, and circular economy objectives.
[ABS News Service/12.06.2026]
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) takes
note of the Council of the European Union’s formal
adoption,
on 8 June 2026, of a new Regulation establishing a framework for the EU steel market in the
context of global steel overcapacity, as outlined in the Steel and Metals Action
Plan of 2025. The
EU Steel Regulation
will apply from 1 July 2026,
following the expiry of the current EU steel safeguard measure on 30 June 2026.
As the global voice of the recycling industry,
BIR underlines that trade measures
affecting steel markets may also have implications for secondary raw materials markets.
Recycled steel is a globally traded commodity and essential input for circular steel
production, particularly in electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steel production. Any
significant change to steel import conditions, quota access or origin verification
requirements may therefore
disrupt global trade flows and commercial practices across the wider steel
recycling value chain.
BIR notes that the Regulation introduces a revised tariff-rate quota (TRQ)
system, setting
total annual
free-of-duty quota volumes
at 18.3 million tonnes, a reduction of approximately 47% compared
with 2024 safeguard quota levels. Imports exceeding the applicable quota will be
subject to a 50% out-of-quota
duty, compared with 25% under the previous safeguard regime.
The Regulation also incorporates a “melt and pour” origin requirement, intended
to strengthen transparency and support effective enforcement by identifying the
country where steel was first melted and poured. BIR also takes note that the European Commission is expected to adopt,
by 31 August 2026, an implementing act specifying the evidence that
importers will be required to provide in order to demonstrate compliance with the
“melt and pour” requirement.
In this context, BIR welcomes the European Commission’s launched
consultation, open from 4
June to 2 July 2026, inviting steel producers, steel users, traders,
importers, industry associations and other stakeholders to identify practical and
reliable documentation for verifying the country of melt and pour of steel imported
into the EU.
BIR encourages its members
and operators active in
ferrous scrap collection, trade, processing and recycled steel production to participate in the consultation before
the deadline of 2 July 2026. This process provides an important
opportunity for the global recycling industry to contribute technical and commercial expertise
to the development of an evidentiary framework that is practical, proportionate,
verifiable and aligned with established recycling and scrap trade practices.
Together with Recycling Europe and its European
members, BIR remains committed to constructive
engagement with the European institutions on all regulatory matters
relating to trade and the circular economy affecting the global recycling industry
and stands ready to contribute to the implementation process.
BIR has consistently supported
open, fair, and effectively regulated global markets for recycled materials, and reaffirms that such markets remain essential
to achieving both environmental and industrial objectives. Trade policy frameworks
should be designed to reinforce, rather than undermine, the role of the recycling
industry in fostering resource
resilience and circular value chains.