[SMM Stainless Steel Market Flash] EU Sets Stainless Quotas (496,342t CR, 153,186t HR) and 50% Over-Quota Duty
The EU's new steel trade regime (Regulation 2026/1384) applies from 1 July 2026, replacing the 2019 safeguard that expires 30 June and lifting the out-of-quota duty to 50% from 25%. Within an 18.35 million-tonne total annual tariff-rate quota, stainless gets category-specific caps: cold-rolled sheets and strips 496,342 t, hot-rolled sheets and strips 153,186 t, hot-rolled quarto plate 17,025 t, bars and light sections 133,595 t, wire rod 40,462 t, and seamless tubes and pipes 32,967 t—about 873,577 t of stainless in total. Quotas run 1 July–30 June and are administered quarterly. Once a category's quota fills, further imports face the 50% duty, double the prior 25% penalty, tightening access for non-EU stainless.