3 July 2026 – Nickel, aluminium, and copper with a stable trend: base metals showed a positive performance on the futures markets today. Another two weeks of flying blind: the new EU steel quotas are not an orderly protection instrument, but a textbook example of how bureaucracy distorts competition. Australia tightens steel trade protection against South Korea and China.
Base Metals Start Trading on a Positive Note
Nickel, aluminium, and copper with a stable trend: base metals showed a positive performance on the futures markets today. On the SHFE, copper, aluminium, and nickel had gained by midday. Copper rose by 0.76%, aluminium by 1.45%, and nickel by 0.59%. The picture at the LME was also positive at the start of trading, with copper, aluminium, and nickel all trading in positive territory.
Brussels’ Steel Quotas: Regulate Too Late, SMEs Pay
Another two weeks of flying blind: the new EU steel quotas are not an orderly protection instrument, but a textbook example of how bureaucracy distorts competition. On 30 June, the new quotas under the steel regime were presented, even though the regime was already supposed to apply from 1 July. Reuters reports a 47% reduction in tariff-free steel import quotas to 18.3 million tonnes and an additional duty of 50% outside the quotas. (Reuters)
Importers therefore had effectively no economically reliable lead time. Goods had already been shipped, financed, or were already in port. Contracts had been concluded, supply chains planned, and customer prices calculated. Exactly at this stage, Brussels decides who may still import duty-free and who suddenly carries a massive customs risk.
Blocked Quota, Full Security
It becomes particularly absurd in customs clearance. The TARIC system shows the quotas as valid from 1 July 2026, but at the same time lists a blocking period from 1 to 14 July 2026. (European Commission) According to affected SME importers, customs authorities are demanding security during this period for the full possible duty amount of 50%.
This is not a technical detail. For large corporations, such tied-up liquidity is annoying. For medium-sized importers, it can blow up the entire calculation. Eurostat shows that large enterprises account for only 3.0% of importing companies in extra-EU trade, but control 57.3% of the import value. This is precisely the structure that the new system further cements.
The Commission Was Warned
The Commission had repeatedly been urged to provide SME-friendly solutions for quotas, first-come, first-served procedures, and evidence requirements. Instead, it remains a system that rewards financial strength and burdens smaller traders with uncertainty, guarantees, and customs risks.
The irony is obvious: under the label of “fair competition,” a market access system is being created that does not protect competition at all. It protects those who are large enough to pre-finance Brussels’ mistakes, or intentions.
Australia Tightens Steel Trade Protection
Australia has introduced provisional anti-dumping measures on certain hot-rolled flat steel products from China and South Korea. The goods concerned fall under several tariff headings for non-stainless flat products of greater width and thickness.
The measures are initially being collected as securities. For Chinese deliveries, the provisional anti-dumping rates vary significantly depending on the producer; for South Korean deliveries, a uniform rate applies. The investigation is ongoing. A final recommendation is expected by early August.
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