April 16, 2026

EU Steel Tariffs Will Affect Our Country Too

According to an agreement just reached to tighten steel import rules to protect domestic industry, the European Union will drastically reduce duty-free steel import quotas from July 1st this year, and significantly increase tariffs for quantities exceeding these quotas. These changes will most severely affect non-EU countries, including Serbia, which relies heavily on steel exports, especially to the EU market. Under the new steel trade regime framework, the duty-free annual steel import quota into the EU will be reduced from 30.5 million tons to 18.3 million tons (a decrease of about 47 percent). Tariffs for exceeding the quota will increase from 25 percent to 50 percent, which could make exports practically unprofitable. Double the tariffs compared to the previous regime will apply to 30 categories of steel-containing products. Formal adoption of the measures is expected in the coming weeks, with plans for them to take effect on July 1st, when the existing steel safeguard mechanism expires, as reported by Tanjug. Consequently, Serbia faces a serious challenge, even though it is not an EU member, but has had a Stabilization and Association Agreement for years, allowing relatively free exports, which does not guarantee protection from such measures.