The European Steel Association (EUROFER) welcomes the European Commission’s adoption of provisional safeguard measures on imports of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES).

 The European Steel Association (EUROFER) welcomes the European Commission’s adoption of provisional safeguard measures on imports of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES).

GOES is essential for power and distribution transformers and is therefore needed for Europe’s electricity grids, energy infrastructure and electrification. Imports to the EU market have grown: GOES imports in 2025 were 125% above 2021 levels, while imports rose by a further 134% between March and June 2026.

Axel Eggert, Director General of EUROFER, said: “Europe cannot expand and strengthen its electricity grids without maintaining a European supply of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel. This safeguard strikes the right balance: preserving a viable European GOES production base while keeping the market open to the imports needed by transformer manufacturers.”

EUROFER said concerns that the measure would significantly increase the cost of Europe’s electrification should be put into perspective. Expert estimates indicate that the measure would add only around 0.002 cents per kilowatt-hour to overall grid costs. This limited impact reflects the fact that GOES accounts for only a small share of transformer costs, while transformers themselves account for only a limited share of total grid investment.

The impact on overall grid investment and electricity costs in Europe would therefore be extremely limited, while the cost of losing strategic European GOES production could be far greater in terms of resilience, security of supply and dependence on imports.

Crucially, the European Commission’s value-chain approach safeguards the competitiveness of European transformer manufacturers as well as European GOES production. By covering not only GOES coils but also laminations, cores and transformer cores incorporated in imported transformers, the measure prevents import pressure from simply shifting downstream. This ensures that EU transformer makers are not placed at a disadvantage against importers using artificially low-priced GOES outside the EU, while preserving access to the imports needed to compete in European and export markets.

Notes for editors

Contact
David French, Spokesperson and Head of Communications, +32 2 738 79 35, (d.french@eurofer.eu)

About the European Steel Association (EUROFER)
EUROFER AISBL is located in Brussels and was founded in 1976. It represents the entirety of steel production in the European Union. EUROFER members are steel companies and national steel federations throughout the EU. The major steel companies and national steel federation of Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom are associate members.

The European Steel Association is recorded in the EU transparency register: 93038071152-83.

About the European steel industry
The European steel industry is a world leader in innovation and environmental sustainability. It has a turnover of around €215 billion and directly employs around 298,000 highly-skilled people, producing on average 146 million tonnes of steel per year. More than 500 steel production sites across 22 EU Member States provide direct and indirect employment to millions more European citizens. Closely integrated with Europe’s manufacturing and construction industries, steel is the backbone for development, growth and employment in Europe.

Steel is the most versatile industrial material in the world. The thousands of different grades and types of steel developed by the industry make the modern world possible. Steel is 100% recyclable and therefore is a fundamental part of the circular economy. As a basic engineering material, steel is also an essential factor in the development and deployment of innovative, CO2-mitigating technologies, improving resource efficiency and fostering sustainable development in Europe.