According to the results of 2025, the European Union (EU) steel industry imported 5.08 million tons of iron and steel products from Russia, which is 4.8% less than in the previous year. At the same time, Russia received €2.08 billion from these supplies. Despite several years of decline, the volumes remain significant.
The largest share of imports is accounted for by semi-finished steel products – 3.72 million tons, or 73% of the total volume. This is 18.3% more than in 2024, and European consumers’ spending on such products reached €1.63 billion. The main consumers of semi-finished products among EU countries in 2025 were: Belgium – 1.29 million tons (+0.5% y/y), Italy – 836.72 thousand tons (+18.8% y/y), and the Czech Republic – 826.46 thousand tons (+73.8% y/y).
Imports of Russian semi-finished products to the EU may continue, as there is a transitional mechanism in place for certain items, primarily slabs, under the bloc’s sanctions regime. According to the European Commission’s explanations and responses to inquiries from the European Parliament, the supply of such products is permitted within gradually reduced quotas until September 30, 2028. In addition, the ban on imports of certain products manufactured in third countries using Russian semi-finished products will only take effect for some codes from October 2028. That is why, despite the general tightening of sanctions, Russian semi-finished products may still remain in the supply chains of the European steel industry.
Significant volumes of imports also fell on cast iron, although deliveries were made only in the first quarter, before the restrictions under the sanctions came into force. In January-March, Russian producers managed to ship 696.99 thousand tons of cast iron to the EU, which corresponds to a 32.3% decrease compared to 2025 as a whole, and import costs reached €254.45 million (-39.5% y/y). Almost all of the raw materials were sent to Italy – 524.62 thousand tons (-31.8% y/y), with another 87.27 thousand tons shipped to Latvia (-40.9% y/y).
The third most popular product in the EU was direct reduced iron (DRI) – 584.65 thousand tons (-44% y/y) worth €175.83 million (-49.4% y/y). The largest importers of DRI were Italy, 312.14 thousand tons (-36% y/y), and Belgium, 135.27 thousand tons (-34.7% y/y).
Imports of iron ore raw materials from Russia to the EU in 2025 were almost non-existent – 2.04 thousand tons (-78.2% y/y), ferroalloys – 0.06 thousand tons (-99.9% y/y). At the same time, supplies of ferrous metal scrap rose sharply last year, by 58.7% y/y, to 74.05 thousand tons.
Although supplies of key products were mostly reduced, they remained significant for certain markets, primarily Italy and Belgium. This is particularly controversial given the weak economic situation in the European steel industry itself. According to EUROFER estimates, imports of semi-finished and finished steel products to the EU grew by 4% in 2024, and their share in apparent consumption reached a historically high 27%, while demand for steel in Europe is not expected to recover until September 2026 at the earliest. In other words, Russian supplies continue to occupy a large share of the market at a time when European producers are already operating in conditions of weak demand and high competition from imports.
At the same time, there are closer alternatives in the EU. In 2025, Ukraine supplied 2.65 million tons of rolled steel to the EU, up 24.6% year-on-year, as well as 987,000 tons of semi-finished products. In addition, Ukrainian pig iron supplies to the EU increased to 568,000 tons, of which 416,000 tons went to Italy. This shows that even in wartime, Ukrainian companies are able to partially meet the needs of the European market, especially in segments where shorter logistics, predictability of the regulatory environment, and strategic compatibility with EU policy are critical.