EU imposes provisional electrical steel import curbs to support regional producers

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EU electrical steel import curbs

Highlights

EU imposes provisional import quotas and minimum prices of 2,800–3,400 euros per ton for GOES, effective Sept. 25, pending investigation outcome.
Measures aim to protect regional producers like Thyssenkrupp and Stalprodukt SA, who face discounted Asian imports up to 25% below market price.
New minimum prices, significantly higher than previous levels, cover both electrical steel and downstream products, with China comprising over 50% of EU imports in 2025.

Provisional curbs and pricing framework

As reported by Reuters, the European Union says it will impose safeguards on grain-oriented electrical steel, or GOES, along with laminations and transformer cores containing the metal. The measures are designed to help keep production in Europe going and come as the European Commission continues an investigation launched in March.

Under the plan, the EU will apply import quotas and minimum prices to the steel and related downstream products. For GOES within the quotas, the minimum price will be set between 2,800 euros and 3,400 euros per metric ton, while volumes above the quotas will face a minimum price of 3,500 euros per ton.

The measures are provisional and take effect from Sept. 25 while the investigation remains under way. Any definitive safeguards at the end of the process would require the backing of a qualified majority of EU member states.

Pressure from Asian imports and industry impact

The move is set to benefit Thyssenkrupp’s steel unit TKMS and Poland’s Stalprodukt SA, which are among the last European producers of electrical steel. The product was not included in broader steel protections introduced earlier this year, even as the sector faces persistent pressure from low-cost competition, including from China.

Thyssenkrupp announced temporary production stops last year at its electrical steel sites in Germany and France after rivals sold excess capacity into European markets at what sources said were discounts of 25%. The latest step from Brussels comes as automotive, chemicals and steel companies across Europe increasingly call for stronger trade defenses against China, the EU’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

Imports of electrical steel from China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the U.S. have been subject to anti-dumping measures since 2015, also through minimum import prices. The new minimum prices are significantly higher than those already in place and will also cover downstream products; China accounted for more than 50% of EU imports of the steel and its downstream products in 2025.

Our earlier article covered the EU’s reported request for China to voluntarily cap hybrid vehicle exports to around 15% of the EU market, a step framed as an attempt to avoid a deeper trade confrontation. It also outlined Beijing’s rejection of any such “voluntary” limits as inconsistent with WTO rules and fair-competition principles, warning it would monitor EU actions and protect Chinese companies’ interests.

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