In 2024 Eurostat puts India first among EU iron and steel suppliers at EUR 3.9 billion. South Korea follows at EUR 3.6 billion, China and Türkiye at EUR 3.5 billion each, and Vietnam at about EUR 2.2 billion. The market is about EUR 39.4 billion plus EUR 33.9 billion of steel articles.
The 2024 market map
Eurostat data for reference year 2024 puts EU imports of iron and steel (HS chapter 72) at about EUR 39.4 billion. A further EUR 33.9 billion is steel articles (chapter 73). Both are whole chapters and include goods outside CBAM, such as scrap. Iron and steel is one of the six CBAM product groups, and the definitive regime has priced its embedded emissions since 1 January 2026.
| Supplier | EU iron and steel imports 2024 | Note |
|---|---|---|
| India | EUR 3.9 billion | Largest single supplier (#1) |
| South Korea | EUR 3.6 billion | Second-largest supplier by 2024 import value |
| China | EUR 3.5 billion | Plus EUR 12.7 billion of steel articles |
| Türkiye | EUR 3.5 billion | EAF-heavy fleet, below-average emissions intensity |
| Vietnam | About EUR 2.2 billion | Iron and steel is most of its CBAM-covered EU exports |
Source: Eurostat, reference year 2024.
Why production route separates the leaders
Production route decides how much carbon each of these flows carries. The blast furnace to basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route has the highest embedded emissions, gas-based DRI-EAF sits in between, and scrap-based EAF is the lowest. China supplies the EU from a BF-heavy fleet, the highest-emitting route. Türkiye runs an EAF-heavy fleet with below-average emissions intensity, so its defaults sit well under India’s, as the sibling answer on CBAM default values for Türkiye steel shows. Default values are specific to the country of origin under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621, so each supplier on this list carries its own set.
Concentration and pressure on the top suppliers
Exposure concentration matters as much as rank. Iron and steel is the large majority of the CBAM-covered EU exports of India, Vietnam and Ukraine, so CBAM reprices most of their covered basket at once. Three moves follow for any exporter on this list:
- Map each product against its country-of-origin defaults, starting from the sibling answer on CBAM default values for Indian steel exports.
- Model the certificate bill year by year in the CBAM cost calculator. Certificates are due for the embedded emissions minus the free allocation adjustment. That deduction shrinks each year: the CBAM factor is 97.5 percent in 2026, and from 2034 nothing is deducted for free allocation. In 2026, 2.5 percent of the benchmark is no longer deducted. That figure is not 2.5 percent of the embedded emissions.
- Prepare installation data with the CBAM solutions service, a consulting engagement running up to verification by an accredited verifier.
Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/956 · Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 · European Commission CBAM