For businesses shipping steel products from Switzerland into the European Union, customs checks go beyond proof of preferential origin. The new EU steel regime has applied since 1 July 2026, with documentary requirements on the country of melt and pour added on 1 October. Your Franzosini contact can help verify products, origin and documentation before dispatch.
Quotas and the 50% duty do not cover every shipment
Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 replaces the previous safeguard measures and has no fixed expiry date. It covers 30 product categories defined by the commodity codes in Annex I, not every article containing steel. Initial annual quotas total approximately 18.3 million tonnes and remain subject to the prescribed reviews. Covered products attract a 50% out-of-quota duty when the quota is exhausted or the import does not benefit from it.
These are EU-wide quotas, not separate quotas for each of the 27 Member States. Swiss-origin products are covered: an EUR.1 or another preferential proof does not automatically remove the measure. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are exempt from the quota and out-of-quota duty regime, but not from melt-and-pour traceability requirements. Non-preferential origin, country of dispatch and country of melt and pour are distinct information.
Swiss access depends on the product category
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1457 sets the allocation. For categories 12, 14, 16, 17, 26 and 27, the Switzerland-specific quota must be exhausted before access to the country-specific FTA quota. For eligible residual categories, the Other Countries and FTA – Other Countries quotas can be available simultaneously. Categories 1A, 2, 4B, 9 and 21 have special arrangements: only the Switzerland quota is available for 1A; Switzerland and Other Countries quotas can be used for 2, 4B, 9 and 21, but not FTA – Other Countries.
The annual period runs from 1 July to 30 June, with quarterly management. During the first year, unused volumes carry over to the next quarter within the same annual period. The correct order number must be entered in the declaration. Availability must be checked for the actual import: a balance checked before dispatch does not guarantee allocation or justify a promise of zero duty.
Since 1 October: country of melt and pour and heat number
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963 defines the evidence requirements. A Mill Test Certificate stating the country of melt and pour and the heat number is required. Missing information may be supplemented by admissible documents, such as invoices, delivery notes, quality certificates, long-term supplier declarations or production records.
From 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, where no Mill Test Certificate can be provided, customs may also consider the admissible alternative documents as standalone evidence, provided they state the country of melt and pour and the heat number. From 1 October 2027 this option ends: those documents remain complementary to the certificate. Complementary or alternative evidence is subject to documentary checks; failure to declare the country with appropriate verifiable evidence leads to rejection of the import.
Prepare your shipment with Franzosini
Send us the product description and commodity code, non-preferential origin, weight, value, planned import date and steel mill documentation. Together we check the category, usable quota and consistency of the evidence, coordinating customs formalities. The answer is not to apply 50% automatically to every shipment, but to establish the actual treatment before committing to costs.
These measures are not US Section 232 duties and do not replace CBAM. These are separate regimes that must be checked independently where applicable.
Review your shipment with Franzosini
Official sources
Updated on 2 October 2026 following the SPEDLOGSWISS circular and SECO factsheet, supplemented by EU rules on melt-and-pour evidence. The rules and tariff applicable at the time of import remain decisive.
Regulation (EU) 2026/1384: steel regime