Five Japanese steel industry groups issued a statement on 1 July calling the EU's new steel safeguard measure "inappropriate and regrettable," and stating that the measure is unfair to Japan given its economic ties with the EU.
The new regulation, which came into effect on 1 July, includes establishing tariff-free quotas for 18.3mn t/yr and introducing a 50pc out-of-quota duty for 26 categories of steel. The regulation reserves 50pc, or 9.15mn t, of the 18.3mn t annual EU import quota for countries with a free trade agreement (FTA). The remaining 50pc is available for all countries, with or without an FTA.
The tariff quota for Japan has been set at 800,000t, which falls well short of the 2022-24 average import volume of around 1.5mn t/yr, the groups said.
The groups said the measure is unfair to Japan, considering its economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the EU. They urged the Japanese government to keep negotiating with the EU. They also asked Tokyo to consider using dispute settlement procedures under World Trade Organization agreements and the Japan-EU EPA.
The five groups are the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, the Special Steel Association of Japan, the Japan Stainless Steel Association, the Japan Wire Products Association, and the Non-Integrated Steel Producers' Association.
The groups also noted that the EU opened an anti-dumping (AD) investigation into hot-rolled flat steel products from Japan, Egypt, India and Vietnam in August 2024. Imports of hot-rolled flat steel products from Japan had already dropped after the EU tightened its old safeguard measure in July 2024. The groups criticised the EU for ignoring this trade-restrictive effect when it found injury and imposed final AD duties in September 2025.
The EU also launched a separate AD investigation in September 2025 into cold-rolled flat steel products from five countries and entities — Japan, India, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. The groups raised a similar concern, saying AD duties could again be imposed without properly accounting for the trade-restrictive effect of the tightened safeguard measure on those products.
The groups said the EU's trade measures are hindering smooth steel trade between Japan and the EU. Japan's government also raised concerns about the EU measures in its "2026 Report on Compliance by Major Trading Partners with Trade Agreements", published in June. The report pointed to inconsistencies with international rules, including WTO agreements and the Japan-EU EPA.
The groups said the EU's unfair trade measures are hindering the smooth export of steel products by Japanese companies to the European market. They called on the Japanese government to pursue persistent negotiations with the EU. They also urged Tokyo to work toward an early resolution of the issue.
