EU initiates safeguard probe into electrical steel imports

The investigation covers certain grain-oriented flat-rolled products and steel laminations and cores, whether or not stacked or wound (SLC), for transformers and inductors. GOES currently falls under the CN codes 7225 11 00 and 7226 11 00, while SLCs fall under CN code 8504 90 13, according to the European Commission.

The investigation was triggered by a request indicating that total imports of GOES and SLCs into the European Union had increased from 91,362 tonnes and 33,163 tonnes respectively in 2021 to 191,056 tonnes and 60,334 tonnes respectively in the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. These increases have had a negative impact on the market share of EU producers, among other consequences, according to the petition.

Grain-oriented electrical sheets are a steel product used in electrical equipment such as power transformers. These transformers enable electricity to be transmitted from power plants to end users – including factories, shops and private households. GOES products are therefore critically important for the security of the European Union's energy infrastructure, the Commission's statement said.

If the investigation confirms that the EU industry is suffering serious injury because of increased imports, the Commission may propose safeguard measures - if considered to be in the Union's interest, the European Commission said. It added that the imposition of safeguard measures would need the support of a qualified majority of EU member states. The interests of EU transformer makers – the end users of GOES – will also be carefully assessed in this respect, it noted.

Should provisional measures be imposed, definitive measures must follow within 200 days and no later than nine months, or at most eleven months, after the initiation, according to the European Commission.

Written by Tiffany Hou, houtianhui@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com