31 July 2026 – European steel and stainless steel producers are currently presenting their results for the second quarter of 2026, revealing what happens when trade policy becomes a quarterly performance driver and who really pays for the positive results. Barely introduced, the EU Steel Regulation is already entering its first review. Now is the time to participate.
EU Stainless Steel Producers: When Trade Policy Becomes a Quarterly Result
Acerinox reports a profit of €77 million, following a loss of €18 million previously. CEO Bernardo Velázquez speaks of a “clear turning point” and describes the new tariff rules as a “game changer in Europe”. Aperam celebrates adjusted EBITDA of €130 million, up 44 per cent, calling it the “best quarter in four years”. Outokumpu’s headline reads: “Improved profitability”.
What is remarkable is not the figure, but the explanation. Section 232, CBAM, import quotas and strategic autonomy: the producers themselves explicitly link their improved results to trade policy measures. What was once regarded as a side effect now appears at the top of investor presentations.
Outokumpu writes that European producers benefited from CBAM and the new steel tariff measures during the first half of 2026. What affected the reporting period was therefore not the new measures themselves, but merely their announcement. Markets price in expectations long before an Official Journal is published. That is precisely the point: protection begins to have an effect as soon as it is announced.
Who Is Paying for the Q2 Success Stories?
These margins are not the result of leaps in productivity, but of more expensive alternatives. Processing SMEs, traders and end customers bear the higher raw material costs without being able to pass them on in export markets. European input material prices rise while the competitiveness of downstream industry declines.
This is most clearly demonstrated by the world’s largest steel producer outside China. According to its own analysis, ArcelorMittal expects the new rules to reduce EU steel imports by approximately 13 million tonnes compared with 2025. The wording does not merely refer to “protection from unfair imports”, but explicitly to lower import pressure, tighter supply, higher capacity utilisation and greater profitability.
It also highlights:
“CBAM (effective since Jan 1, 2026) requires importers to bear carbon cost → higher carbon cost reflected in European steel prices.”
So much for who really pays for CBAM and tariffs.
Four corporations celebrate a strong quarter. Tens of thousands of downstream processors recalculate their costs. This is not a turnaround. It is a redistribution.
EU Steel Regulation Enters Its First Review
On 30 July 2026, the European Commission announced the launch of its consultation on the first product scope review of the Steel Regulation that has been in force since 1 July, meaning a 50 per cent tariff and drastically reduced quotas.
The announcement states that the consultation had already been open since 28 July. Those were two days available to well connected associations, but not to everyone else. The Commission provides no explanation for the delayed announcement.
Deadline: 28 September 2026
Until 28 September 2026, producers, processors, traders, importers and associations can submit their views on which product groups should be covered. The Commission is required to conduct consultations in four areas. It is safe to doubt that domestic producers will leave it at that and refrain from pressing for additional categories.
What the Commission Does Not Say
The procedure works in both directions. Anyone able to demonstrate that a product already covered has been wrongly subjected to quotas and tariffs can make precisely that case. This possibility is not mentioned in any press release. It is contained in the Regulation.
Imposing tariffs on both upstream input materials and downstream products has never created international competitiveness. Not in a single case. Tariffs increase a country’s own cost base and protect the very inefficiency they claim to cure.
Our Recommended Action: Participate Now
Take part in the consultation. At the same time, write to your elected representatives. Their addresses are publicly available. In the German Bundestag, they usually follow the format firstname.lastname@bundestag.de.
Those who remain silent will be represented by those who were informed two days earlier.
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We at the Gerber Group have been trading in stainless steel worldwide for over 20 years. We are your experts when it comes to purchasing, import, logistics and services. Information is a vital part of this. Because only then can you and we make the right decisions. Do you have any questions? Contact us now.
Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
