Turkey has reached its European Union (EU) steel import limits [1] for several product categories in the second quarter of 2025, reflecting heightened demand and ongoing trade constraints. According to data from the European Commission (EC), as of April 11, Turkish exporters had fully utilized their quotas for rebar (94,398 tons), wire rod (98,054 tons), hollow sections (83,949 tons), and various flat products.
Additionally, Turkey has consumed the entire 20,955-ton quota for metal-coated sheets (4B) allocated to it under the “other countries” category, as well as 99.6% of its gas pipe quota, totaling 49,432 tons. The robust purchases of rebar and wire rod indicate steady activity in Turkey’s steel sector despite increasing barriers to trade.
Other nations have also exhausted specific EU steel import quotas. Vietnam has fully utilized its allowance for metal-coated sheets (4B), amounting to 20,955 tons, while South Korea depleted its tin product quota of 16,105 tons. Meanwhile, India has reached its limits on organic coated sheets (78,591 tons) and stainless bars and light profiles (31,733 tons).
The EU has been progressively tightening restrictions on steel imports in an effort to safeguard domestic producers. In April, the EC implemented stricter supply limits for residual quotas—covering imports under the “other countries” classification—across 16 product categories, with constraints ranging between 13% and 30% per nation, depending on the item. Furthermore, the annual liberalization rate of tariff quotas has been reduced from 1% to 0.1%, further restricting duty-free imports into the bloc.
A significant shift in quota policy will also prevent nations from fully utilizing leftover quotas originally allocated to Russia and Belarus. The EC has opted to retain only 35% of these sanctioned volumes for selected steel imports, further curtailing overall supply availability.
Sources:
[1] Turkey exhausts a number of EU steel import quotas for Q2 https://gmk.center/en/news/turkey-exhausts-a-number-of-eu-steel-import-quotas-for-q2/