The Steel Regulation Applies: Deadlines, Details and the First Complete Cost Calculation
CBAM Weekly – Issue 101
From adoption to application
Since 1 July, the new Steel Regulation has applied. It was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 24 June as Regulation (EU) 2026/1384, after the Council approved it on 8 June. Readers of this series know the framework from Issue 95, namely halved duty-free quotas and a 50 percent duty on everything beyond them. This issue looks at what the final text specifies, which deadlines are now running and how import costs can be calculated in full from now on.
30 categories, quarterly allocation
The published text settles the practical details. The product scope grows from 28 to 30 categories compared with the previous safeguard measures, and the total duty-free quota is set at exactly 18,345,922 tonnes per year. The quotas are administered quarterly, broken down by product category and country of origin.
For procurement teams, quarterly allocation is the most important news in the final text. Whether duty-free volumes are available is decided at the start of each quarter. Ordering late in the quarter means risking the full 50 percent duty.
Melt and pour now has a date
The origin rule based on the country of melt and pour, described in Issue 95, now comes with a concrete timeline. The evidence requirement starts on 1 October 2026, three months after the regulation became applicable, with a mill test certificate serving as proof. From October 2027, the Commission will take this data into account in the country allocation of the quotas, and by 30 June 2028 it will assess whether the criterion becomes the sole basis for allocation. The three months until October are the time remaining to embed mill test certificates showing the country of melt and pour firmly into the ordering process. Companies that already request installation-level data from suppliers for CBAM purposes can add the origin information to the same request.
The second certificate price can already be calculated
On Monday 6 July, the Commission will publish the CBAM certificate price for the second quarter of 2026, calculated as the weighted average of EU ETS auction prices over the quarter. Since the quarter has ended, this average can already be determined. It comes to 75.28 euros per tonne, just below the first-quarter value of 75.36 euros. The price becomes official only with Monday's publication. With that, all three cost components of a tonne of steel are on the table. Within the quota, no additional duty applies, while certificate costs remain. Outside the quota, the 50 percent duty and certificate costs add up. For second-half planning, the landed-cost calculation can be drawn up without placeholders for the first time.
The extension debate starts immediately
The regulation has barely become applicable, and the discussion about widening it is already under way. Since 1 July, consultations have been running on a first extension of the new measures. In parallel, the text contains two review mandates, namely by 31 December 2026 on adding further CN codes and by 30 June 2027 on extending the scope to steel-containing downstream products. The second review connects directly to the CBAM extension, on which the Council set out its position on 12 June (Issue 99). Both instruments are moving in the same direction, deeper into the downstream value chain. Companies importing steel-containing intermediate or processed goods should keep an eye on both procedures, even though no obligation follows from them today.
Outlook
Importers should request mill test certificates showing the country of melt and pour from their suppliers before 1 October to meet the evidence requirement without time pressure. In the extension debate, the next step is Parliament's position on the CBAM extension. Together with the ongoing consultation on the Steel Regulation, it will determine how far both instruments reach into processed products from 2028.
Support
If you would like to understand how the final text of the Steel Regulation affects your CBAM cost calculation, for example quarterly quota planning or the origin documentation required from October, please get in touch at helge@kolum.earth.