EU member states backed definitive anti-dumping duties on cold-rolled flat steel imports from India, Japan, Türkiye, Vietnam and Taiwan on 29 October, advancing an EU trade-defence case. The vote was 15 in favour, nine abstentions and three opposed, but does not set the duties’ effective date.
The measures will take effect only after the European Commission publishes the relevant implementing regulation in the EU Official Journal. The Commission’s publication is therefore the step that remains before the definitive duties apply; the member states’ vote alone does not establish when importers will face them.
In October, the Commission revised proposed rates for Turkish exporters after challenges to its calculation methodology. The revised range is 3.0% to 7.8%, down from the previous range of 5.6% to 9.7%. The Commission accepted concerns involving inflation adjustments, freight costs, and differences between production and import-price calculations.
The proposed rate is 3.0% for Tatmetal and 7.8% for Borçelik. It is 4.9% for other cooperating companies and 7.8% for other imports originating in Türkiye. An exporter’s effective tariff exposure can therefore depend on company-specific findings as well as the country of origin.
EUROFER, the European steel association that lodged the complaint underlying the investigation, filed it in September 2025. The EU did not impose provisional duties during the investigation, so there will be no retroactive collection of provisional duties.
Separate trade and emissions measures
The anti-dumping duties address findings of unfair import pricing. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) applies an emissions-related adjustment under a separate legal and calculation framework. The two measures are distinct, although both may affect the competitiveness of Turkish steel shipments to Europe.
For EU steel buyers, the duties could raise the cost of importing affected products. Commercial consequences will depend on final tariff rates, sourcing alternatives and contractual arrangements. Additional barriers affecting alternative suppliers could also influence sourcing decisions by Serbian steel processors and regional distributors, and the prices of imported industrial inputs.
Any commercial opportunity for Serbian processors and distributors would depend on applicable quota treatment, product specifications, production capacity and emissions costs. The rates remain proposed, and the definitive duties will apply only after the Commission’s regulation is published.
