European Commission's Steel Measures May Undermine Trade Objectives
The European Commission has proposed new 'melt-and-pour' measures aimed at enhancing transparency and traceability in steel imports. Starting October 2026, importers will need to provide evidence of the country where raw steel or iron is first produced in liquid form and cast into its primary solid state. This information will not be used directly by importers to draw on quota but will help establish country-specific quota amounts from October 2027. The measure sets tariff-free quotas at 18.3 million tonnes per year, with an out-of-quota duty of 50% for 30 categories of steel products imported into the EU. Philippe Heeren, a regulatory partner at Reed Smith, expressed concerns that these measures could potentially undermine the objectives of the new rules, particularly affecting partner countries that do not contribute to global overcapacity. 
