As highlighted in the new OECD Steel Outlook 2026 report, anti-dumping and countervailing duties remained key instruments for regulating global steel trade in 2025. Despite a slight slowdown in the initiation of new investigations, the total number of active measures rose to a record high. For market participants, this translates into further complexity in foreign trade flows, increased volatility in product availability, and stricter requirements for procurement planning.
Scale of Trade Restrictions and Key Indicators
According to OECD data, 75 new anti-dumping and countervailing investigations were initiated in 2025, compared to 90 in the previous year. China remained the primary target of these cases, accounting for 27 investigations, while 27 countries in total were subject to actions. Almost all of last year's investigations, except one, concluded with affirmative preliminary determinations, indicating a high probability of actual restriction implementation.
At the same time, the cumulative number of active measures in force since 2016 is even more telling. In 2025, this figure reached 395 compared to 321 in 2024, marking a new record high. Currently, there are 113 active measures against China, 41 against South Korea, and 33 against Vietnam. Among the jurisdictions actively utilizing these tools, the US leads with 77 measures, followed by Canada, Australia, and the EU.
The OECD also highlights the acceleration of administrative procedures. The average time to reach a preliminary determination was reduced from roughly 200 to 144 days, and countervailing duty investigations are increasingly launched in parallel with anti-dumping cases. This means that trade barriers hit the market faster, leaving importers and distributors with a smaller window for adaptation.
Impact on the Steel Market and Solutions from winox.ua
For the global steel market, this dynamic signals not only a redirection of trade flows but also additional strain on regional supply chains. The OECD report stresses that while anti-dumping and countervailing measures effectively address specific products and countries, they do not resolve the systemic issue of global excess capacity. As a reminder, the organization estimates that global steelmaking overcapacity could reach 745 million metric tons by 2028.
For Ukrainian metal consumers, these developments underscore the importance of having a reliable supplier capable of operating within volatile global market conditions. In this environment, winox.ua helps businesses mitigate procurement risks by ensuring stable supplies of rolled steel, stainless steel, and non-ferrous metals for industrial needs. This approach is particularly vital for manufacturing companies whose operations depend on supply continuity and cost predictability.
Rising trade barriers also affect pricing benchmarks, logistics lead times, and the availability of specific product categories. Consequently, businesses should transition from transactional purchasing to more systematic inventory management and materials specification planning. For B2B clients, this creates a need for a partner who does not just supply metal, but also deeply understands market risks and their impact on manufacturing cycles.
What This Means for Industrial Procurement in the Coming Years
The current situation demonstrates that protectionism in the steel trade is a long-term structural factor rather than a temporary reaction to isolated market imbalances. Even if the pace of new investigations fluctuates, the massive volume of cumulative measures already in place continues to shape the market over time. This fundamentally changes the operating rules for traders, service steel centers, and industrial consumers alike.
For manufacturing enterprises, the diversification of sourcing channels, trade policy monitoring, and the revision of long-term contracting strategies are becoming essential. This is particularly relevant in segments where consistent quality, serial supply runs, and strict adherence to technical specifications are paramount. In this market, the winners will be the companies that proactively adapt their procurement policies to the new structure of global metal trade.