In March 2018, the US imposed tariffs on steel imports to the US of 25%. These measures applied to the EU as of June 2018. The EU reacted by imposing retaliatory tariffs on EU-bound EU products in late June 2018. In order to ward off the destabilising effects of deflected steels, a provisional EU safeguard on steel imports followed on 18 July 2018. The EU decided to implement a final safeguard measure in February 2019, which will last for four years, with annual reviews.

Essentially, the safeguard is a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) of 100% based on the import levels in 2015-2017, with a dissuasive 25% tariff above that. There are further specific rules regarding quarterly quotas for certain products and countries, with limited exceptions. These change periodically as the safeguard is reviewed.