The European Commission proposed on 7 October 2025 a new long-term trade measure to protect the EU steel market from the effects of global overcapacity, in a draft regulation numbered COM(2025) 726. The proposal would replace the steel safeguard measure that has been in force since 2019 and is legally due to expire on 30 June 2026, after eight years. The Commission said the structural overcapacity that made the safeguards necessary would not disappear when they lapse, and that their effectiveness was already being undermined by the United States' steel tariffs imposed since March 2025, which diverted exports towards Europe. The proposal fulfilled a commitment made in the Steel and Metals Action Plan of March 2025 to present a successor measure by the third quarter of the year. It now goes to the European Parliament and the Council for negotiation, with the industry pressing for a measure strong enough to hold import volumes at historic levels once the safeguard quotas disappear.
Source: Council of the European Union — https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-13702-2025-INIT/en/pdf
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