Source: EUROFER, SteelOrbis and EUROMETAL, October 2026
The European steel industry has brought approximately 10 million tonnes of crude steelmaking capacity back into operation during 2026, according to the European Steel Association (EUROFER). The reactivated capacity is estimated to have helped safeguard up to 80,000 jobs across the European steel value chain. European producers have also taken investment decisions worth at least 3.4 billion euros so far this year, with a further 2.4 billion euros in investment decisions expected before the end of 2026.
The figures were presented during an October 12 meeting between newly elected EUROFER President Geert Van Poelvoorde, the association's vice presidents and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic, held roughly one hundred days after the European Union's new steel trade measure entered into force. That measure, effective from July 1, caps annual duty-free steel imports into the EU at 18.3 million tonnes and applies a 50 percent customs duty to volumes exceeding the tariff quota. EUROFER said the measure has supported a recovery in confidence after EU steel imports rose 14 percent in 2025 and crude steel production fell to a historic low of 125.8 million tonnes.
Despite the encouraging signals, the association stressed that the restarts and investment decisions represent early signs of stabilisation rather than evidence of a sustained recovery. Its latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2026-2027 shows market conditions remaining difficult: EU steel exports declined by 9 million tonnes between 2018 and 2025 and fell a further 20 percent year on year in the first half of 2026, while apparent EU steel demand is forecast to grow by only 0.1 percent in 2026.
Van Poelvoorde said the new trade measure had given the industry much-needed room to operate, allowing capacity to come back online and investment to proceed after years of decline, but he cautioned that stabilisation does not yet mean recovery. He called for effective measures to prevent circumvention of the trade restrictions, internationally competitive energy prices, fair carbon emission costs for European industry and an effective Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, alongside stronger market conditions to support demand for steel manufactured in the EU.
