THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

⚡ BREAKING: 🚨 EU to cut tariff-free steel imports by 47% from 2024 levels, capping annual quota at 18.3 million metric tons. The move reshapes global steel trade flows as Brussels tightens import controls. #EU #Steel #Trade #Economy

EU halves duty-free steel quota but UK and other partners given better rate <p>Thirteen countries with a free trade agreement with Brussels have their quota reduced by just one-third</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2026/jun/30/uk-living-standards-fall-fastest-growth-in-g7-andy-burnham-pound-bonds-live-news-updates">Business live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>The EU has halved the amount of duty-free steel it will accept from abroad, but has agreed higher import levels for more than a dozen trading partners, including Britain.</p><p>However, some steel producers have been hit harder than others with Tata Steel UK, Britain’s biggest producer, revealing its duty-free exports have been slashed by 60%.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/30/eu-duty-free-steel-quota-uk-rate-brexit">Continue reading...</a>

EU issues new steel and e-commerce regulations to reduce trade imbalance with China By: Sam Mcneil And Chan Ho-him, The Associated Press Posted: 7:09 AM CDT Wednesday, Jul. 1, 2026 Advertisement Advertise with us Tweet Share Print Email Read Later BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union rolled out two measures to protect its steel industry and limit e-commerce small parcels on Wednesday as the 27-nation bloc grapples with its staggering trade imbalance with China. Read this article for free: or Already have an account? Log in here » To continue reading, please subscribe: Digital Subscription One year of digital access for only $1.44 a week * Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper Access News Break, our award-winning app Play interactive puzzles *Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks. After 52 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time. To continue reading, please subscribe: Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional $1 for the first 4 weeks* Enjoy unlimited reading on winni…

EU Steel Safeguard 2026: Half the Quota, Double the Duty — Mila … China's commerce ministry confirmed on 28 May 2026 that it is in WTO talks with the European Union over a steel measure due to start on 1 July, calling it "protectionism" ( SteelOrbis, 29 May 2026 ), and two days later Beijing said it would retaliate if Brussels pressed ahead ( Bloomberg, 30 May 2026 ). For anyone importing steel into the EU, the bargaining matters less than the date. From 1 July 2026 the duty-free quota shrinks by nearly half and the penalty for going over it doubles to 50%. What actually changes on 1 July The EU has run a steel safeguard since 2018: a tariff-rate quota across the main steel product categories, where imports inside the quota enter duty-free and imports above it pay 25%. That measure expires on 30 June 2026. The replacement, approved by the European Parliament on 19 May 2026 by 606 votes to 16 ( European Parliament, 19 May 2026 ), tightens both levers at once. Tariff-free volume drops to 18.3 million tonnes a year, a 47% cut from 2024 levels, and the out-of-quota duty rises from 25% to 50%. It applies to steel from every origin, China included, with only Norway, Iceland and Liechten…

EU halves duty-free steel quota but UK and other partners given better ... The EU has halved the amount of duty-free steel it will accept from abroad, but has agreed to higher levels of imports for 12 trading partners including the UK. The curbs are designed to reduce cheap Chinese steel coming into the bloc. However, 12 countries with a free trade agreement (FTA) with Brussels, including the UK, have had their quota reduced by just one-third. “The Commission is putting in place the practical arrangements needed to ensure that the EU’s steel measure operates effectively from day one,” said the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič. “We are providing market participants with predictability through clear and transparent quota distribution rules.” The new steel safeguards mark the biggest divergence in trade with the UK since the Brexit transition period began at the start of 2020. They were originally announced to slow down the use of Chinese products in European industries, particularly after trade was diverted from the US as a result of Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs launched in April 2025. The EU said last year it planned to cut overall tariff-free imports from non-EU co…

EU reaches deals with a dozen countries for smaller steel quota cuts BRUSSELS — The European Union has reached deals with a dozen close trading partners for smaller reductions in tariff-free steel import quotas, while China and other countries will bear the brunt of cuts under a new market access regime. The new steel quotas will reduce overall tariff-free quotas by 47 percent while tariffs on imports above those quotas will double to 50 percent from Wednesday. The measure seeks to shelter the European steel industry from global overcapacity, while inflicting less pain on countries that have free-trade deals with the EU. The quota allocations, which followed months of secretive negotiations at the World Trade Organization’s headquarters in Geneva, were closely held and only disclosed when the implementing regulation was published in the EU’s Official Journal on Tuesday. Advertisement Overall, the EU will import 18.3 million metric tons without tariffs, with half going to its preferential trade partners and the other half distributed more broadly. China, the world’s largest steel producer, faces some of the biggest cuts as it has no trade deal with the EU. It will only get a tariff…

EU slashes tariff-free steel quotas 47%, imposes 50% duty above cap The European Union cut tariff-free steel import quotas by 47% to 18.3 million metric tons and doubled over-quota duties to 50%, effective Wednesday, as officials moved to protect the bloc's steel industry from a 620-million-ton global overcapacity. "We are providing market participants with predictability through clear and transparent quota distribution rules, while applying a fair and objective methodology," Maros Sefcovic, the EU's top trade negotiator, said Tuesday. Half of the 18.3-million-ton quota — or 9.15 million tons — is reserved exclusively for countries with free-trade agreements with the EU, meaning those preferred partners will ship 33% less tariff-free steel to the bloc than before. The remaining half is open to all trading partners, including FTA countries. Many FTA partners will receive country-specific quotas proportionate to their historic export volumes, the European Commission said, adding that a "significant number" have provisionally agreed to the allocations. The measure targets a steel overhang the commission estimates at 620 million metric tons globally, much of it from China. By raising …