EU tightens up on ferroalloy imports, including from Norway and Iceland

Brussels – EU clampdown on ferroalloy imports to protect the European industry. Manganese, silicon, nickel, and a range of metal alloys from third countries will now be subject to tariff quotas, above which, duties will be triggered. “We cannot afford to let a strategic sector collapse under the weight of increasing import pressures,” said EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, explaining the decision. Two members of the European Economic Area, Norway and Iceland, are particularly affected, as they account for almost half of the EU’s ferroalloy imports. This concludes the legal proceedings and investigation initiated by the European Commission in December 2024. According to Brussels, the influx of non-EU ferroalloys is causing “serious damage” to the European industry. Imports increased by 17 per cent between 2019 and 2024, causing the market share of EU producers to fall from 38 to 24 per cent. Moreover, the European Commission claims that import prices “undercut the Union industry’s sales prices throughout the period, exerting considerable pressure on the Union industry’s sales prices, leading to low or negative profits.”

The investigation confirmed that imports into the EU of certain metal alloys have increased due to worldwide overcapacity, import restrictions in other important markets, and the general rise in customs tariffs.

This is enough to justify intervention to safeguard the EU industry and the approximately 1,800 people employed in the sector across Europe. Along the lines of what has already been done to protect European steel mills, the final measures consist of country-specific tariff quotas (TRQs) per type of ferro-alloys, which limit the volume of imports that can enter the single market duty-free. Above these quotas, ferroalloys can only continue to benefit from duty-free access if their price exceeds a set threshold. If, on the other hand, the price is lower, a duty equal to the difference between the “net free-at-Union-frontier price” (the price of a good including all costs, excluding taxes and customs fees, at the moment of entry into the single market) and the price threshold established for each type of product will apply.

The safeguard measures will be in place for a period of three years, until 17 November 2028, and will apply indiscriminately to all third countries, including close partners Norway and Iceland, from which the EU imports 43 per cent and 4 per cent of its ferroalloy needs, respectively. “They have been carefully designed to minimise the impact on the integrated European value chain,” assured the European Commission, which will conduct quarterly consultations with Oslo and Reykjavik to “carefully examine” the impact of the duties.

An appeal by the Norwegian Finance Minister—and former NATO Secretary General—Jens Stoltenberg, who a few days ago asked Brussels to postpone the safeguard measures, was to no avail. The Norwegian government’s protest came immediately: “We do not agree with the EU on this point and, for the companies concerned in Norway, this will have a negative impact,” warned Norwegian Trade Minister Cecilie Myrseth. “This will be a key issue at next Thursday’s meeting of the Council of European Economic Area members,” added Foreign Minister Barth Eide.