After several days of routine agricultural management, the EU's trade policy has pivoted back to significant trade defence action. Today’s update saw the introduction and immediate activation of new anti-dumping duties on lightweight thermal paper from China, with rates as high as 70.5%. This move, which directly answers the question of whether last week's aggressive protectionist posture would continue, was accompanied by a raft of adjustments to iron and steel tariff quotas.
The themes
Today's regulatory activity signals a clear return to the significant trade defence actions seen last week, breaking the brief interlude of routine agricultural tariff management. The focus was split between new protectionist measures and the ongoing technical administration of existing ones. Activity was concentrated in trade defence, primarily impacting paper products from China, and a large volume of changes to tariff quotas for iron and steel.
Headline items
The day's most significant development is the imposition of new anti-dumping duties on imports of lightweight thermal paper from China. The measures, detailed in Regulation R1914/26, apply to four commodity codes (including 4809900010 and 4811900010) and carry rates up to 70.5%. These duties were loaded and took effect today.
Alongside this, regulators published a substantial number of changes related to tariff quotas for iron and steel products. This included a mix of validity changes and new measures for imports from South Korea and India under Regulation R1457/26. While some of these adjustments took effect yesterday, several new zero-duty quota measures for South Korean steel products are scheduled to become active later this month.
Coming into force
Twenty-four measures took effect today, dominated by the new anti-dumping duties on Chinese lightweight thermal paper.
Looking ahead, today's update included several future-dated tariff quota measures for iron and steel products from South Korea. These zero-duty quotas, affecting commodity lines such as tool steel (7225401200) and various flat-rolled products, are scheduled to take effect on 26 August 2026.
What to watch
The resumption of high-stakes trade defence action confirms that the aggressive posture seen in late July was not an isolated event. With new duties on Chinese paper now in place, attention turns to whether this campaign will continue to broaden. The ongoing adjustments to steel quotas, with more changes scheduled for late August, also warrant close observation, as do the new chemical tariffs we noted previously, which are set to take effect on 18 September.