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Steel imports: 'melt and pour' requirement applies from 1 October. Is your documentation in order?

29 September 2026

  • From Thursday 1 October 2026, importers of many steel products must prove where the steel was melted and poured. Dutch Customs confirmed this again on 22 September. The measure comes from EU Regulation 2026/1384, which affects a large share of European steel imports. Shipments without the correct documents risk not being cleared through customs.

    Background: stronger protection for the European steel market
    Since 1 July, Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 has replaced the previous steel safeguard measures. The volume of steel that may enter the EU without an additional duty is about 47% lower than under the 2024 quotas, and now stands at 18.3 million tonnes per year. Once a quota is used up, a duty of 50% applies instead of the previous 25%. That duty comes on top of any anti-dumping or countervailing duties.

    The new ‘melt and pour’ rule is meant to stop steel from countries with overcapacity from reaching the European market through minor processing in a third country. From now on, what counts is the country where the steel was first produced in liquid form and cast.

    What must be provided from 1 October?
    On 28 August, the European Commission set out the required evidence in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1963. The starting point is the Mill Test Certificate (MTC). It must state two things: the country of melt and pour, and the heat number of the steel.

    If the MTC is missing either of these, Customs may accept supplementary documents that do contain the missing information. The MTC itself must then also be submitted. These documents come from a fixed list, which includes invoices, delivery notes, quality certificates, contract clauses, long-term supplier declarations, cost accounting and production documents, customs documents from the country of export, commercial correspondence and product descriptions.

    Transition year: temporarily also without an MTC
    From 1 October 2026 up to and including 30 September 2027, these alternative documents may also be used on their own as evidence if no MTC is available, provided they state both the country of melt and pour and the heat number. After that, the MTC becomes mandatory. Please bear in mind that the requirements will become stricter from October 2027.

    Which products?
    The rules mainly apply to basic steel products such as plates, strips, bars, sections, wire rod, tubes and wire, and generally not to articles of steel. The HS code is decisive: only products listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 are covered. You can find the list of codes [in the attachment / via this link].

    What does this mean for your shipments?
    For the customs declaration, we need the country of melt and pour, the heat number and the supporting document for each shipment and each product. The rules explicitly state that the import will be refused if the country of melt and pour is not declared with adequate, verifiable evidence.

    Our advice is in line with that of the Royal Metaalunie (the Dutch association for SMEs in the metal sector): contact your suppliers now. Check whether they include an MTC, whether it states the country of melt and pour and the heat number, and whether they can provide this information as standard from 1 October. Then send these documents along with the other clearance documents, and we will make sure your shipment is handled smoothly.

    Further reading