Source: Mysteel, based on European Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2133 and Reuters reporting
The European Commission will impose provisional safeguard measures on imports of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) and downstream steel laminations and cores, under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2133. The measures enter into force on 25 September 2026 and will apply for 155 days, until late February 2027, while the Commission's safeguard investigation continues. The probe was opened in March at the request of Germany, France and Poland, and the Commission's preliminary findings concluded that surging imports had caused or threatened to cause serious injury to European producers of a material considered critical for power grids.
The regime combines tariff-rate quotas with price-based safeguard duties. Country-specific quotas have been allocated on the basis of average imports over the previous three years, with China receiving 30,694 tonnes, Japan 23,104 tonnes and South Korea 4,790 tonnes, alongside a residual quota of 5,360 tonnes for other eligible origins. Within quota limits, minimum price thresholds for GOES range from 2,800 to 3,400 euros per tonne depending on grade, rising to 3,500 euros per tonne for out-of-quota volumes. Separate thresholds apply to steel laminations and to transformer cores, while cores already incorporated into imported transformers face a specific duty of 1,140 euros per tonne of core material, extending protection along the entire transformer value chain.
The move responds to a sharp deterioration in market conditions. Imports of GOES and related products rose from about 135,100 tonnes in 2021 to 297,100 tonnes in 2025, while EU production declined over the same period. China accounted for 53 percent of EU imports of the products concerned in 2025, followed by Japan at 20 percent and Tuerkiye at 13 percent. Electrical steel was not covered by the broader steel measures adopted earlier this year, although imports from China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States have been subject to anti-dumping measures since 2015. European producers, including Thyssenkrupp's steel division, welcomed the decision, with the company's chief executive calling it the first time an entire value chain from electrical steel to transformer cores has been protected.
The measures arrive as Europe ramps up investment in transmission grids to accommodate renewable energy, electrification and data-centre demand, all of which depend on transformer availability. GOES typically represents between 10 and 30 percent of a transformer's cost, and importers will now need to model landed costs shipment by shipment, since quota availability, product grade and declared prices all affect whether duties apply. Definitive measures would require the support of a qualified majority of EU member states at the end of the investigation.
