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【Export Policy】China Reintroduces Export License Management for Steel After 16 Years

On December 12, 2025, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs jointly released Announcement No. 79, deciding that from January 1, 2026, export license management will be implemented for certain steel products.

This marks the reintroduction of China's steel export license management system 16 years after its cancellation in 2009, signaling that China's steel export management has entered a new stage.
The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) stated that including steel products under export license management is an important measure to guide standardized exports and promote high-quality development of the steel industry, and will help maintain balance in global steel supply, demand, and trade.

CISA noted that continuously improving steel export management is a key step in accelerating the construction of a new development pattern and ensuring that steel products primarily meet domestic demand. It is also a necessary measure for guiding domestic industrial upgrading and participating in international supply chain cooperation under globalization. This will help coordinate trade flows, integrate trade channels, promote positive interaction between international and domestic markets, and ultimately support the transformation and upgrading of the steel industry.

According to Announcement No. 79, steel products subject to export license management involve 300 customs tariff codes, covering the entire industrial chain from raw materials to finished products.

In September 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, jointly issued the Steel Industry Stabilized Growth Work Plan (2025–2026). The plan explicitly called for strengthening export management of steel products, maintaining orderly export competition, and optimizing the structure of steel exports. Announcement No. 79 is a concrete measure to implement these requirements.

Chen Leiming, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Metal Materials Circulation Association, told Yicai Global that this policy adjustment is a necessary response to the multiple challenges currently facing the steel industry.

From January to November 2025, China's steel exports reached 107.7 million tons, up 6.7% year on year. Full-year exports are expected to reach 115 million tons, exceeding the historical peak of 112 million tons in 2015.

However, behind the growth in export volume, structural contradictions remain evident, including declining export prices and a surge in exports of low value-added primary products. Chen Leiming pointed out that this "volume-for-price" export model not only increases energy consumption and carbon emissions, but also easily triggers more international trade frictions, which does not align with the long-term goal of high-quality development of China's steel industry.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in the first half of 2025, China's steel exports reached 58.15 million tons, up 9.2% year on year. The average export price was USD 699.3 per ton, down 10.3% year on year, while total export value amounted to USD 40.66 billion, down 2.0% year on year. During the same period, cumulative billet exports reached 5.89 million tons, three times the level of the previous year, while the average export price declined by 15.3%.

"The sharp increase in billet exports accompanied by falling prices in the first half of 2025 shows that some enterprises are still competing primarily on price. Export license management will raise compliance costs for exporting low value-added products and force companies to adjust their product mix," Chen Leiming said.

In addition, trade frictions faced by the steel industry have increased significantly. Since 2024, China's steel sector has encountered more than 50 anti-dumping cases, reaching a historical high. Vietnam, India, South Korea, Indonesia, and other countries have successively imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese hot-rolled coils, medium and heavy plates, and other products, with duty rates as high as 38.02%.

Through export license management, companies can also be guided to optimize their export market allocation, reduce dependence on traditional markets that have imposed high anti-dumping duties, and expand into emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America.

Chen Leiming suggested that enterprises should promptly familiarize themselves with the specific product lists subject to management and prepare application materials such as export contracts and product quality inspection certificates in advance. Starting from December 15, 2025, companies may apply for 2026 export licenses and should plan ahead. Steel producers are encouraged to increase R&D investment and develop high-end products such as high-performance bearing steel, gear steel, and high-temperature alloys. Some leading domestic enterprises have already begun exporting "green steel," obtaining EPD environmental product declarations through full-process carbon verification and achieving a 50% reduction in carbon emissions per ton of steel. This transformation path is worth referencing.

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