Days left in quarter
–
Q1 · 1 Jul – 30 Sep 2026
Quota lines tracked
283
26 steel categories
Critical / exhausted
–
≥ 90% used or closed
Fastest-burning line
–
by share of quota used
50% out-of-quota tariff. Imports above the quota pay a 50% duty on the value of the goods — double the old safeguard rate.
First come, first served. Quota is allocated as goods clear customs. When a line is gone, it's gone until next quarter.
Quarterly + first-year carryover. Unused quarterly volume rolls over within the first year of the measure (to 30 Jun 2027) only.
How to read EU balances: the EU publishes quota balances once per working-day evening, and the figures exclude allocation requests still being processed — in practice the numbers run ~2 working days behind customs reality. A line showing a small remaining balance may already be spoken for. Treat balances as a strong signal, not a booking guarantee — confirm with your customs agent before committing shipments.
"Melt and pour": new evidence requirement from 1 October 2026
From 1 October 2026, every importer of the 26 steel categories must be able to evidence the country of melt and pour — where the steel was first produced in liquid form and cast into its first solid state — not just where it was last processed. In practice that means a mill test certificate traceable to the melting mill.
It does not change your quota — yet. This is a traceability and transparency obligation. Quota eligibility still runs on non-preferential origin, exactly as the balances on this page show. Melt and pour starts feeding the country allocations from 1 October 2027, and by 30 June 2028 the Commission must decide whether it becomes the primary basis for quota access.
What is still undecided, the full timeline, and what to ask your supplier
The exact evidence is not final. Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 sets the obligation, but the implementing act specifying which documents count is due from the Commission by 31 August 2026, after a consultation that closed on 2 July 2026. The mill test certificate is the front-runner, not yet the confirmed answer. We will update this page when the act is published.
- 25 Jun 2026Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 enters into force
- 1 Jul 2026New quotas open; 50% out-of-quota duty applies
- 31 Aug 2026Implementing act on melt-and-pour evidence due
- 1 Oct 2026Importers must supply melt-and-pour evidence
- 1 Oct 2027Melt-and-pour data starts informing country quota distribution
- 30 Jun 2028Commission reviews whether it becomes the basis for quota access
What to ask your supplier now, before October:
- Can they name the melting mill and its country for every item you buy — not the rolling or coating mill?
- Will the mill test certificate travel with the shipment, and does it state the melt country explicitly?
- For material bought through a trader or stockholder, can that certificate still be traced back to the original heat?
- Where the melt country differs from the customs origin, do you know both — because from October you will have to declare both.
The gap to watch is re-rolled material: steel melted in one country, rolled or coated in another. Its non-preferential origin — and therefore its quota line on this page — may sit in a different country from its melt and pour.
Know the grade, not the category? Try:
Open (<70% used)
Watch (70–90%)
Critical (>90%)
Exhausted
ℹ ×pace = usage speed vs time elapsed
Why do some categories show several lines — even two for the same country?
The EU allocates each category's tonnage in tiers, and every line below is a separate quota with its own order number:
- Country quota — tonnage reserved for one country with a large historical share (e.g. Turkey, Egypt, the United Kingdom).
- FTA-pool share (reserved) — on top of its country quota, an FTA partner can get a ring-fenced share of the residual quota too. That's why the UK appears twice in some categories: its own quota, plus its reserved slice of the pool.
- FTA pool (shared) — residual tonnage shared between the listed FTA quota-holders, first come, first served.
- Pool for any FTA origin — a residual pool any of the EU's free-trade-agreement partners can draw from.
- Open to all origins — the final pool, available to every country including non-FTA origins.
So two lines that both look like "other countries" are really two different doors: one for FTA partners, one for everyone. Which line applies to a shipment is decided at customs clearance by origin and the quota order number (#09.xxxx shown on each line).
Loading EU quota balances…
EU quota data is temporarily unavailable. Please try again shortly — or check the official EU quota consultation.
Steel grade directory — which EU import quota does your grade fall under?
Engineers buy EN3B, EN19 or 304 stainless — not "category 12". This directory maps the grades used in workshops to the EU quota category they are imported under from 1 July 2026, by product form. The EU measure is broader than the UK's — it also covers cold-rolled sheet, electrical sheet, stainless flat products, sheet piling and seamless tubes. Click any grade to check its balances above. Classification always depends on the exact CN/TARIC code — confirm with your supplier or customs agent.
Carbon & alloy bar grades
Cat 27 Bright / cold-drawn bar · Cat 16 Hot-rolled rod (wire rod)
Cat 27 Bright / cold-drawn bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / cold-drawn bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / pre-hardened bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / pre-hardened bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / pre-hardened bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright / ground bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 27 Bright bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar
Cat 12 Hot-rolled bar / flat · Cat 2 Cold-rolled spring strip
Cat 27 Ground / cold-finished bar
Cat 27 Bright drawn bar
Cat 12 Hot-rolled / forged alloy bar · Cat 27 Bright / cold-finished bar
Cat 27 Bright / cold-drawn bar · Cat 12 Black / hot-rolled bar · Cat 1A Hot-rolled sheet / coil · Cat 2 Cold-rolled sheet · Cat 7 Plate (quarto)
Stainless steels
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 15 Wire rod · Cat 8 Hot-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 9 Cold-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 10 Quarto plate · Cat 22 Seamless tube
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 15 Wire rod
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 15 Wire rod · Cat 8 Hot-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 9 Cold-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 10 Quarto plate · Cat 22 Seamless tube
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 15 Wire rod · Cat 8 Hot-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 9 Cold-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 10 Quarto plate · Cat 22 Seamless tube
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 8 Hot-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 9 Cold-rolled sheet / strip
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 8 Sheet / strip
Cat 14 Bar & light sections
Cat 14 Bar & light sections · Cat 8 Hot-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 9 Cold-rolled sheet / strip · Cat 10 Quarto plate
Cat 14 Bar & light sections
Structural, plate & sheet
Cat 7 Plate (quarto) · Cat 1A Hot-rolled sheet / strip / coil · Cat 17 Angles, channels, beams, sections · Cat 21 Hollow section (SHS/RHS)
Cat 7 Plate (quarto) · Cat 1A Hot-rolled sheet / coil
Cat 7 Alloy quarto plate
Cat 7 Quarto plate
Cat 1A Hot-rolled sheet / coil · Cat 7 Quarto plate (thick)
Cat 1A Hot-rolled sheet / strip / coil
Cat 2 Cold-rolled sheet / coil
Cat 4A Metallic coated sheet / coil · Cat 4B Metallic coated sheet / coil (other codes)
Cat 5 Organic coated sheet
Cat 6 Tin mill products
Cat 3A Electrical sheet (non-GOES) · Cat 3B Electrical sheet (non-GOES, other codes)
Tubes, sections, rod & rebar
Cat 13 Reinforcing bar
Cat 16 Hot-rolled wire rod · Cat 28 Cold-drawn wire
Cat 17 Angles, shapes & sections
Cat 18 Sheet piling
Cat 19 Railway material
Cat 21 Welded square / rectangular hollow section
Cat 20 Welded circular ≤168.3 mm · Cat 26 Other welded tube
Cat 26 Other welded tubes · Cat 25B Large welded tubes (>406 mm)
Cat 25A Large welded tubes (25.A codes) · Cat 25B Large welded tubes (other)
Cat 24 Seamless tube & pipe (carbon / alloy) · Cat 22 Seamless stainless tube
Not covered — no quota risk
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
✓ All forms: no quota
Where the EU's steel imports come from
Import volumes into the EU-27 per quota category from Eurostat's Comext customs statistics, to May 26 (Eurostat publishes with a ~2-month lag). Navy line: monthly tonnage from all non-EU origins. Orange: 3-month weighted average, recent months weighted 3:2:1. Together with the daily balances above, this shows who supplies the EU — and what happens when their quota runs out.
Cat 1A
Hot-rolled sheets & strips
9,911 ktimported, last 12 mo
Indonesia 18%Turkey 18%Ukraine 13%Others 51%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −8% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +23%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 4A+4B
Metallic coated sheets
5,005 ktimported, last 12 mo
Korea, Republic of 18%China 17%Turkey 14%Others 51%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −5% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +8%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 16
Wire rod
2,500 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 19%Indonesia 19%Ukraine 13%Others 49%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −20% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +4%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 2
Cold-rolled sheets
2,303 ktimported, last 12 mo
Korea, Republic of 19%India 16%Turkey 10%Others 55%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +13% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −8%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 7
Quarto plates
2,034 ktimported, last 12 mo
Korea, Republic of 23%Indonesia 21%India 15%Others 41%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +9% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −6%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 12
Merchant bars & light sections
1,966 ktimported, last 12 mo
China 31%Turkey 21%Egypt 16%Others 32%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −41% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +38%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 13
Rebars
1,918 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 31%Egypt 19%China 12%Others 38%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −42% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +8%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 5
Organic coated sheets
1,063 ktimported, last 12 mo
India 29%Korea, Republic of 27%Vietnam 12%Others 32%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −19% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −8%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Show all 29 categories
Cat 21
Hollow sections
981 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 44%UK 13%North Macedonia 11%Others 32%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −1% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +5%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 6
Tin mill products
884 ktimported, last 12 mo
China 50%India 9%UK 8%Others 33%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −41% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +7%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 28
Non-alloy wire
673 ktimported, last 12 mo
China 43%Turkey 28%Ukraine 15%Others 14%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −12% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +4%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 9
Stainless cold-rolled sheets
649 ktimported, last 12 mo
Korea, Republic of 21%Taiwan 18%China 13%Others 48%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +4% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −17%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 24
Other seamless tubes
425 ktimported, last 12 mo
China 43%Ukraine 29%Brazil 8%Others 20%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −43% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −20%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 20
Gas pipes
409 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 52%India 20%North Macedonia 7%Others 21%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −41% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +6%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 26
Other welded pipes
398 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 40%China 12%UK 9%Others 39%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −55% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +5%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 3B
Electrical sheets (3B codes)
370 ktimported, last 12 mo
Korea, Republic of 37%China 33%Taiwan 24%Others 6%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +30% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +39%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 17
Angles & sections
286 ktimported, last 12 mo
UK 29%Turkey 28%China 23%Others 20%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +85% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −12%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 14
Stainless bars
245 ktimported, last 12 mo
India 80%Switzerland 6%UK 5%Others 9%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +17% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +7%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 8
Stainless hot-rolled sheets
238 ktimported, last 12 mo
Taiwan 24%Korea, Republic of 24%India 18%Others 34%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +17% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −14%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 25B
Large welded tubes (2)
190 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 45%China 27%India 13%Others 15%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +124% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −1%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 25A
Large welded tubes (1)
157 ktimported, last 12 mo
UK 31%Turkey 29%India 18%Others 22%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +138% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +95%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 27
Cold finished bars
141 ktimported, last 12 mo
China 36%Turkey 27%Switzerland 20%Others 17%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +24% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +20%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 22
Seamless stainless tubes
60 ktimported, last 12 mo
India 50%Ukraine 20%China 6%Others 24%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +13% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +4%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 15
Stainless wire rod
56 ktimported, last 12 mo
India 36%Taiwan 25%Korea, Republic of 14%Others 25%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +0% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −10%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 18
Sheet piling
50 ktimported, last 12 mo
China 62%UAE 32%UK 3%Others 3%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −50% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +28%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 19
Railway material
27 ktimported, last 12 mo
UK 56%Turkey 22%China 15%Others 7%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: −24% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: +17%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 10
Stainless quarto plates
26 ktimported, last 12 mo
China 57%India 24%South Africa 6%Others 13%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
May 26 vs May 25: +39% (same month, year on year) · last 12 months vs previous 12: −37%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 1B
Hot-rolled sheets & strips (1B)
7 ktimported, last 12 mo
UK 39%United States from 1995 -> 2000) 38%Japan 16%Others 7%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
last 12 months vs previous 12: −1%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Cat 3A
Electrical sheets (non-GOES)
1 ktimported, last 12 mo
Turkey 83%Ukraine 6%Korea, Republic of 5%Others 6%
Monthly imports (kt)3-month weighted avg (3:2:1)
last 12 months vs previous 12: −56%
Quota status: loading balance… See quota status ↑
Source: Eurostat Comext (EU trade by CN8 commodity code, dataset DS-045409), refreshed monthly. Figures are code-level: engineering grades (EN24, S355…) share commodity codes with other grades of the same form. Import volume ≠ quota usage — quotas meter tariff-free entry, imports above quota still flow at the 50% tariff.
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