Luxembourg, 12 March 2025
In 2024, the EU companies exported iron and steel and related articles worth €77.8 billion and imported €73.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of €4.7 billion. Compared with 2019, there was a substantial increase in the trade of these products: exports rose by 15.2% (+€10.3 billion), and imports increased by 23.7% (+€14.0 billion). These monetary increases occurred despite a decline in the physical weight of exports by 17.3% and imports by 1.6%, indicating that the value rise was primarily driven by increasing prices (Source dataset: ds-045409).
Trade data show that EU exports of iron and steel went up by 9.9%, from €29.4 billion in 2019 to €32.3 billion in 2024. Imports of the same products increased 19.7% in the same period, reaching €39.5 billion in 2024. However, measured in weight exports and imports decreased by 14.6% and 4.1%, respectively.
Regarding articles of iron and steel, the evolution is similar. The EU exported €45.5 billion worth of these articles, indicating a 19.3% increase compared with 2019 (€38.2 billion) and imported €33.6 billion, +28.7% compared with 2019 (€26.1 billion). However, measured in weight exports decreased by 26.0% while imports increased by 10.1%.
Türkiye and India: main partners for iron and steel
For iron and steel, Türkiye was one of the main partners both for exports and imports in 2024, occupying the 1st place in exports with a total of €6.2 billion and 3rd place in imports with €3.5 billion.
The United States was the second biggest export partner with €5.4 billion worth of iron and steel, followed by the United Kingdom (€4.0 billion), Switzerland (€2.1 billion) and Mexico (€1.7billion).
In terms of imports, India was the number 1 partner (€3.9 billion), followed by South Korea (€3.6 billion). China (€3.5 billion) and the United Kingdom (€3.2 billion) also featured in the 2024 top 5.
Between 2019 and 2024, exports of iron and steel to Mexico increased by 54.1% and to the United States by 51.1%, while imports from India went up by 89.2% and from South Korea by 43.0% (Source dataset: ds-045409).
United States and China: main partners for articles of iron and steel
When it comes to articles of iron and steel, the EU exported €8.0 billion worth of these products to the United States, up 45.1% from 2019. This country was followed by the United Kingdom (€6.3 billion), Switzerland (€3.5 billion), Norway (€2.9 billion) and China (€2.8 billion).
As for import partners, China led by far with €12.5 billion worth of articles of iron and steel, representing 37.3% of total imports of these articles in 2024. Türkiye (€4.6 billion), the United Kingdom (€2.9 billion), the United States (€2.0 billion) and India followed (€1.7 billion).
A closer look at the data shows that imports from Türkiye, India and China increased significantly since 2019: +82.4%, +40.5% and +37.0%, respectively (Source dataset: ds-045409)
For more information
- Thematic section on international trade in goods
- Database on international trade in goods
- Statistics 4 beginners articles on trade in goods
Methodological notes
This article uses harmonised system (HS) codes 72 (iron and steel) and 73 (articles of iron and steel).
Source – Eurostat