European Union countries were due to discuss on July 5 measures proposed by the European Commission to restrict steel imports into the bloc. The Commission proposed a combination of a quota and a tariff to prevent a surge of steel imports which is threatened, notably since the United States imposed levies on incoming steel and aluminium.
The quota would reflect the quantity of imports over recent years, with a 25 percent tariff set for volumes exceeding that amount.
The main exporters of steel to the EU are China, India, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Ukraine.
The European Commission, launched a study in late March into whether U.S. import tariffs justified action to prevent the mainly Asian exporters flooding Europe with steel.
The U.S. import tariffs of 25 percent on incoming steel and 10 percent on aluminium came into effect on March 23 and have also been imposed on EU exporters since June 1.