EU tightens trade defences
The EU reached a provisional deal to tighten protections for its steel industry and is moving to block glass‑fibre imports routed through Belt and Road locations to evade tariffs. Industry groups say the measures replace expiring safeguards and extend trade defence into downstream supply chains for construction materials. (eurometal.net) (euronews.com)
The European Union has struck a provisional deal to replace its expiring steel safeguards and has imposed new duties on glass-fibre imports from Egypt, Bahrain and Thailand. (consilium.europa.eu) (ec.europa.eu) The steel deal was announced on April 13 by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. It would replace the current European Union steel safeguard regime, which expires on June 30, 2026, with a new framework aimed at global overcapacity and trade diversion. (consilium.europa.eu) (europarl.europa.eu) The European Commission said on April 15 that it imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on continuous filament glass fibre from Egypt, Bahrain and Thailand. The duty rates were set at 11.8% for Bahrain, 11% for Egypt, and between 15.3% and 25.4% for Thailand. (ec.europa.eu) (kpmg.com) Steel safeguards are emergency trade limits that cap imports or trigger tariffs once quotas are filled. The European Union first put them in place in 2018 under World Trade Organization rules, and the current version was extended in June 2024 through June 2026. (europarl.europa.eu) (ec.europa.eu) The new steel framework is meant to keep protection in place after those World Trade Organization safeguard rules lapse. The Council said the draft regulation is designed to protect the steel sector while giving more flexibility to downstream users that buy steel for manufacturing and construction. (consilium.europa.eu 1) (consilium.europa.eu 2) The glass-fibre case pushes those trade defences further into supply chains used in construction, wind energy and other industrial products. Euronews reported that the European Commission linked the case to Chinese-owned production routed through Belt and Road locations to bypass earlier tariffs. (euronews.com) (ec.europa.eu) For Egypt, the new anti-dumping duty comes on top of anti-subsidy measures already in force since 2020, taking the combined rate to 24.1%, according to industry publication Glass International. The European Commission said its investigation found dumped imports were injuring the European Union glass-fibre industry. (glass-international.com) (ec.europa.eu) Industry groups welcomed both moves. Glass Fibre Europe and industriAll Europe said the duties confirmed unfair practices by Chinese companies operating in the three countries, while European steel distributors said the replacement for the June 2026 steel expiry avoids a regulatory gap. (glassfibreeurope.eu) (eurometal.net) The steel deal is still provisional and needs formal approval before it can take effect on July 1, 2026. The direction is already clear: Brussels is keeping trade barriers in place for basic steel and extending them to materials further down the industrial chain. (consilium.europa.eu) (eurometal.net)
