July 2026 EU Steel Safeguard Cuts Duty-Free Quotas 47% with 50% Out-of-Quota Tariff

On July 1, 2026, the European Union implemented a revised steel safeguard framework that cut annual duty-free import quotas by 47% to 18.3 million tonnes while doubling out-of-quota tariffs to 50% across 30 categories. These measures directly affect raw material inputs for steering racks, column shafts, and seamless tubes, with automotive-grade steel quotas exhausting within days of allocation. European OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers face an estimated €5 billion to €9 billion in additional annual supply chain costs, driving direct price increases of up to 30% on critical structural steel components.