EU Nearly Halves Steel Import Quota, Hitting Crippled Ukrainian Industry

The EU voted in May 2026 to slash tariff-free steel imports by 47%, capping them at 18.3 million metric tons annually. Ukraine, producing just 8 million metric tons—down 80% from prewar levels—depends almost entirely on this market. The cut arrives as Kyiv's steelmakers already operate under physical and logistical war constraints. Brussels framed the reduction as protection against global overcapacity, but its timing compounds Ukraine's structural vulnerability at a moment when it has the least capacity to absorb pressure.