The European Commission plans to extend its protection measures for steel and will continue to impose tariffs on steel imports if certain quotas are reached. The commission will also adapt the measures as needed, as outlined in the draft of the Steel Action Plan, reported by the “Handelsblatt” in its Monday edition. The plan will be officially presented next week.
According to the 23-page draft, the commission states that “worldwide overcapacities pose a serious threat to the profitability and competitiveness of the European industry.” The EU has already taken trade protection measures due to unfair competition, but these measures are set to expire at the end of June 2026.
After conducting thorough investigations, the European Commission has concluded that it is justified to extend the measures. It is not expected that the “structural global overcapacities and their negative trade-related effects on the EU’s steel industry” will disappear. The US steel and aluminum tariffs, which went into effect this week, are a recent example of the ongoing issue.