EU steel exports plunge 33% as trade tensions mount

The European Union's steel imports fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026, declining 23 percent year-on-year, according to the latest quarterly report from the European Steel Association (EUROFER), as the bloc's steel sector contends with deepening global trade frictions and weakening international demand.steelorbis+1

Exports Hit Even Harder

The EUROFER Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2026-2027/Q2 2026 report, released this week, paints a broader picture of a sector under strain. Total EU steel exports to third countries declined 33 percent year-on-year in January and February 2026, with finished steel product exports down 30 percent over the same period.steelorbis

Exports to the United States — where a 50 percent tariff on steel imports has been in effect since June 2025 — fell 46 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2026. Shipments to Turkey dropped 23 percent, exports to China declined 13 percent, and those to Norway fell 20 percent. Switzerland was the only major destination to register growth, with a two percent increase. EUROFER ArcelorMittal S.A. ↗ 0.83% data showed that over the nine months following the US tariff imposition, EU steel exports to the US fell 34 percent, from 2.93 million tonnes to 1.94 million tonnes.miningmetalnews+2

New Trade Regime Takes Effect

The import decline comes as the EU prepares to implement its new steel trade defense regulation on July 1, 2026, replacing the existing safeguard measure. The framework introduces reduced duty-free quotas of 18.3 million tonnes annually, with a 50 percent tariff applied to imports exceeding those limits, alongside "melt and pour" origin-tracing requirements.policy.trade.europa+1

EUROFER noted that steel capacity utilization in the EU remained subdued at 65.4 percent in Q1 2026, broadly unchanged from 2025 levels. The association forecasts apparent steel consumption to grow by just 0.4 percent in 2026, reaching 135 million tonnes, after a 4.4 percent rebound in 2025.steelorbis

Structural Pressures Persist

The trade data underscore a European steel industry caught between contracting export markets and a domestic recovery that remains fragile. EU crude steel production fell to a record low of 125.8 million tonnes in 2025, and while demand has stabilized, output levels remain well below pre-pandemic figures. EUROFER attributed the weakness in exports to "the challenging global trade environment, marked by trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and weaker industrial activity."eurofer+1