Brussels, Aug. 5 -- The European Commission (EC) has recently launched its first targeted consultation to define product scope under the European Union's (EU) Steel Regulation, establishing a new safeguard framework that is far stricter than the previous regime and could directly affect Vietnam's steel shipments.

The regulation slashes the duty-free import quota to 18.3 million tonnes a year, a nearly 47% cut from the 2024 levels, while doubling the out-of-quota tariff to 50%. Product coverage has also widened from 28 to 30 categories.

Critically, the regulation introduces a "melt and pour" traceability rule, forcing importers to declare the country where steel was originally melted and cast, not just where final processing took place....