The European Union’s steel safeguards cap duty-free imports at 18.3 million tonnes a year across covered categories, with a 50% duty on volumes above the relevant quota. The rules add shipment-specific trade requirements for Serbian steel exporters, who also face the bloc’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The European Commission says the safeguards took effect on 1 July 2026. The duty does not automatically apply to every Serbian steel export: the impact depends on the product category, quota access, origin and customs treatment. Companies need product-specific legal analysis before concluding that the measures will directly increase their costs.
Representatives of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce identified emerging EU trade barriers as a challenge for exporters at the MEPS 2026 conference. The concerns reflect a wider shift in European industrial policy, while the safeguards and CBAM pursue different goals. Together, they raise the importance of accurate product classification, origin documentation and emissions data for sales into the EU.
CBAM adds emissions evidence requirements
CBAM’s definitive phase began on 1 January 2026 and covers selected imports of iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The obligations fall on the EU importer or authorised declarant, while producers outside the EU may need to provide accurate emissions and production evidence for import declarations and commercial claims.
Importers may use permitted default values or verified actual emissions where the rules allow. The first annual CBAM declarations for imports made in 2026 are due in 2027 under the EU framework.
For Serbian suppliers, reliable installation-level emissions data can become a commercial differentiator, as buyers seek assurances about delivery economics as well as environmental information. Exporters should assess customs classification, quota exposure, contract price adjustments, emissions boundaries and the identity of the EU declarant separately.
Carbon-related paperwork cannot replace compliance with quota rules, and quota entitlement does not remove CBAM reporting and payment obligations where applicable. The combined requirements create a more complex competitive landscape for Serbian industry. Companies best placed to protect margins will be those able to provide independently scrutinised evidence of product origin, manufacturing processes, energy inputs and emissions characteristics.