The European Union will reduce South Korea’s tariff-free steel import quota by up to 14% starting next month, which could significantly impact the country’s steel industry.
On Tuesday, the EU announced revised safeguard measures to protect its domestic steel sector. These new regulations will take effect on Wednesday, with full implementation beginning on April 1.
The EU’s safeguard system, introduced in 2018 in response to the Trump administration’s steel tariffs, allows duty-free imports up to a set quota for each country. Imports exceeding this limit are subject to a 25% tariff.
Under the revised measures, South Korea’s hot-rolled steel quota—the country’s largest steel export category to the EU—will face the most significant cut.
From April 1 to June 30, the quota will decrease from 186,358 tons to 161,144 tons, a reduction of approximately 14%. Quotas for other South Korean steel products will also be lowered, though to a lesser extent.
The EU is also tightening enforcement of these safeguard measures. Starting in July, the system that allows countries to carry over unused quotas from one quarter to the next will be eliminated for certain product categories, potentially limiting exporters’ flexibility.
The EU also introduced a “global quota” system for some products, capping total tariff-free imports across all countries. This system will impose 13% to 30% limits on how much of the remaining tariff-free allocation any single country can use, preventing individual exporters from dominating the market.
