EU Combined Nomenclature · CN code · HS 7203.10
7203 10 00: Direct reduced iron (DRI): Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore
Direct reduced iron (DRI)
✓ Can be used in a customs declaration Data: EU Combined Nomenclature, in force from 1 January 2026 · checked on 24 October 2026
- 7203 Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore and other spongy ferrous products, in lumps, pellets or similar forms; iron having a minimum purity by weight of 99,94 %, in lumps, pellets or similar forms:
- 7203 10 00 Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore
What you pay
Importing into EU
Additional duties and import rules
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
Additional duties and charges 1
- Handling feeUnion handling fee 2 EUR
- Applies to goods from
- all countries
- In force
- from 1 November 2026
- Legal act
- Regulation 2108/26
- Documents
- Y126 Goods sold in distance sales
Import requirements 5
- Prohibition or restrictionImport prohibition
- Applies to goods from
- Belarus, North Korea
- Legal act
- Regulation 0355/22, Regulation 1548/17
- Import control
- Applies to goods from
- Ukraine
- Legal act
- Regulation 0692/14
- Import control
- Applies to goods from
- Russia
- In force
- until 31 December 2027
- Legal act
- Regulation 0833/14
- Documents
- L142 Import authorisation by virtue of article 3i paragraph 3c of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014
- K031 Tariff quota - order number 09.8261 requested and not exhausted
- L143 Import authorisation by virtue of article 12b.2 of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014
- Y874 The prohibitions defined in article 3i.1 of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 do not apply (see exemptions in article 3i.3aa)
- Y859 Goods entered the territory of the customs union of the EU and presented to customs authorities prior to the entry into force or to applicability date of the present sanction, whichever is latest (see Article 12e of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014)
- Import control
- Applies to goods from
- Ukraine
- Legal act
- Regulation 0263/22
- Documents
- Y984 Goods not originating from or not destined for the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine in the oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia
- N954 Movement certificate EUR.1
- N864 Invoice declaration or origin declaration made out by any exporter on invoice or any other commercial document
- Import controlCarbon Border Adjustment Mechanism - CBAM
- Applies to goods from
- all countries except Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
- In force
- until 31 December 2026
- Legal act
- Regulation 0956/23
- Documents
- Y128 CBAM account number
- Y134 Goods originating in Büsingen, Heligoland, or Livigno (Article 2.4 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956)
- Y135 Goods to be moved or used in the context of military activities - Exemption by virtue Article 2.(3) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956
- Y237 Goods of EU origin (CBAM)
- Y238 Application to obtain the status of authorised CBAM declarant has been submitted until 31 March 2026
- Y137 De minimis exemption - Exemption by virtue Article 2a. of Regulation (EU) 2023/956
Export measures 6
Prohibitions, licences, controls and sanctions that apply when these goods leave the EU.
| Export measures | Destination | Legal act | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export prohibitionSanctions regime: North Korea | North Korea | Regulation 0285/18 | 28 February 2018 |
| Export controlSanctions regime: Crimea and Sevastopol | Ukraine | Regulation 0692/14 | 25 February 2025 |
| Export controlSanctions regime: Russia | Russia | Regulation 0833/14 | 26 June 2024 |
| Export controlSanctions regime: Belarus | Belarus | Regulation 0765/06 | 25 February 2025 |
| Export controlSanctions regime: Non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine | Ukraine | Regulation 0263/22 | 25 August 2022 |
| Export controlSanctions regime: Iran | Iran | Regulation 0267/12 | 30 September 2025 |
TARIC data as of 2 November 2026
Import VAT in the EU member states
The rate each member state applies to goods of this code, from the Commission’s Taxes in Europe Database. A reduced rate can cover only part of the goods under a code: check the national VAT law.
-
Austria 20%
-
Belgium 21%
-
Bulgaria 20%
-
Croatia 25%
-
Cyprus 19%
-
Czechia 21%
-
Denmark 25%
-
Estonia 9% reduced rate
-
Finland 25.5%
-
France 20%
-
Germany 19%
-
Greece 24%
-
Hungary 27%
-
Ireland 23%
-
Italy 22%
-
Latvia 21%
-
Lithuania 21%
-
Luxembourg 17%
-
Malta 18%
-
Netherlands 21%
-
Poland 23%
-
Portugal 23%
-
Romania 21%
-
Slovakia 23%
-
Slovenia 22%
-
Spain 21%
-
Sweden 25%
TEDB · 2 November 2026
EU: imports by month · HS 7203.10
Main suppliers, last 12 months
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| €181.8m | 38.2% | +28.6% | |
| €125.5m | 26.4% | -27.5% | |
| €79.4m | 16.7% | +10.6% | |
| €28.6m | 6% | -88.5% | |
| €7.4m | 1.6% | -65.8% | |
| €4.5m | 0.9% | — | |
| €2.2m | 0.5% | -67.1% | |
| €771k | 0.2% | -94.4% |
Same subheading in other tariffs
7203.10 Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore
Legal notes
Notes
1. In this chapter and, in the case of notes (d), (e) and (f) throughout the nomenclature, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them:
(a) Pig iron
Iron-carbon alloys not usefully malleable, containing more than 2 % by weight of carbon and which may contain by weight one or more other elements within the following limits:
not more than 10 % of chromium,
not more than 6 % of manganese,
not more than 3 % of phosphorus,
not more than 8 % of silicon,
a total of not more than 10 % of other elements.
(b) Spiegeleisen
Iron-carbon alloys containing by weight more than 6 % but not more than 30 % of manganese and otherwise conforming to the specification at (a) above.
(c) Ferro-alloys
Alloys in pigs, blocks, lumps or similar primary forms, in forms obtained by continuous casting and also in granular or powder forms, whether or not agglomerated, commonly used as an additive in the manufacture of other alloys or as de-oxidants, de-sulphurising agents or for similar uses in ferrous metallurgy and generally not usefully malleable, containing by weight 4 % or more of the element iron and one or more of the following:
more than 10 % of chromium,
more than 30 % of manganese,
more than 3 % of phosphorus,
more than 8 % of silicon,
a total of more than 10 % of other elements, excluding carbon, subject to a maximum content of 10 % in the case of copper.
(d) Steel
Ferrous materials other than those of heading 7203 which (with the exception of certain types produced in the form of castings) are usefully malleable and which contain by weight 2 % or less of carbon. However, chromium steels may contain higher proportions of carbon.
(e) Stainless steel
Alloy steels containing, by weight, 1,2 % or less of carbon and 10,5 % or more of chromium, with or without other elements.
(f) Other alloy steel
Steels not complying with the definition of stainless steel and containing by weight one or more of the following elements in the proportion shown:
0,3 % or more of aluminium,
0,0008 % or more of boron,
0,3 % or more of chromium,
0,3 % or more of cobalt,
0,4 % or more of copper,
0,4 % or more of lead,
1,65 % or more of manganese,
0,08 % or more of molybdenum,
0,3 % or more of nickel,
0,06 % or more of niobium,
0,6 % or more of silicon,
0,05 % or more of titanium,
0,3 % or more of tungsten (wolfram),
0,1 % or more of vanadium,
0,05 % or more of zirconium,
0,1 % or more of other elements (except sulphur, phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen), taken separately.
(g) Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel
Products roughly cast in the form of ingots without feeder-heads or hot tops, or of pigs, having obvious surface faults and not complying with the chemical composition of pig iron, spiegeleisen or ferro-alloys.
(h) Granules
Products of which less than 90 % by weight passes through a sieve with a mesh aperture of 1 mm and of which 90 % or more by weight passes through a sieve with a mesh aperture of 5 mm.
(ij) Semi-finished products
Continuous cast products of solid section, whether or not subjected to primary hot-rolling; and other products of solid section, which have not been further worked than subjected to primary hot-rolling or roughly shaped by forging, including blanks for angles, shapes or sections.
These products are not presented in coils.
(k) Flat-rolled products
Rolled products of solid rectangular (other than square) cross-section, which do not conform to the definition at (ij) above in the form of:
coils of successively superimposed layers, or
straight lengths, which if of a thickness less than 4,75 mm are of a width measuring at least 10 times the thickness or if of a thickness of 4,75 mm or more are of a width which exceeds 150 mm and measures at least twice the thickness.
Flat-rolled products include those with patterns in relief derived directly from rolling (for example, grooves, ribs, chequers, tears, buttons, lozenges) and those which have been perforated, corrugated or polished, provided that they do not thereby assume the character of articles or products of other headings.
Flat-rolled products of a shape other than rectangular or square, of any size, are to be classified as products of a width of 600 mm or more, provided that they do not assume the character of articles or products of other headings.
(l) Bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils
Hot-rolled products in irregularly wound coils, which have a solid cross-section in the shape of circles, segments of circles, ovals, rectangles (including squares), triangles or other convex polygons (including ‘flattened circles’ and ‘modified rectangles’, of which two opposite sides are convex arcs, the other two sides being straight, of equal length and parallel). These products may have indentations, ribs, grooves or other deformations produced during the rolling process (reinforcing bars and rods).
(m) Other bars and rods
Products which do not conform to any of the definitions at (ij), (k) or (l) above or to the definition of wire, which have a uniform solid cross-section along their whole length in the shape of circles, segments of circles, ovals, rectangles (including squares), triangles or other convex polygons (including ‘flattened circles’ and ‘modified rectangles’, of which two opposite sides are convex arcs, the other two sides being straight, of equal length and parallel).
These products may:
have indentations, ribs, grooves or other deformations produced during the rolling process (reinforcing bars and rods),
be twisted after rolling.
(n) Angles, shapes and sections
Products having a uniform solid cross-section along their whole length which do not conform to any of the definitions at (ij), (k), (l) or (m) above or to the definition of wire.
Chapter 72 does not include products of heading 7301 or 7302.
(o) Wire
Cold-formed products in coils, of any uniform solid cross-section along their whole length, which do not conform to the definition of flat-rolled products.
(p) Hollow drill bars and rods
Hollow bars and rods of any cross-section, suitable for drills, of which the greatest external dimension of the cross-section exceeds 15 mm but does not exceed 52 mm, and of which the greatest internal dimension does not exceed one half of the greatest external dimension. Hollow bars and rods of iron or steel not conforming to this definition are to be classified in heading 7304.
2. Ferrous metals clad with another ferrous metal are to be classified as products of the ferrous metal predominating by weight.
3. Iron or steel products obtained by electrolytic deposition, by pressure casting or by sintering are to be classified, according to their form, their composition and their appearance, in the headings of this chapter appropriate to similar hot-rolled products.
CBAM: carbon border adjustment
Goods of the CBAM sector iron and steel pay for the greenhouse gases emitted in their production when they are imported into the EU. Without verified actual emissions, the importer declares the default values below (tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of goods).
7203 Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore and other spongy ferrous products, in lumps, pellets or similar forms; iron having a minimum purity by weight of 99,94%, in lumps, pellets or similar forms
| Country of production | Direct | Indirect | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.81 | — | 0.81 | |
| 1.03 | — | 1.03 | |
| 0.76 | — | 0.76 | |
| 4.2 | — | 4.2 | |
| 0.58 | — | 0.58 | |
| 2.01 | — | 2.01 | |
| 0.76 | — | 0.76 | |
| 0.45 | — | 0.45 | |
| Other countries (default) | 1.33 | — | 1.33 |
with the mark-up for 2026: 1.458 · with the mark-up for 2027: 1.59 · with the mark-up for 2028: 1.722
t CO2e per t of goods · definitive period since 1 January 2026; first annual declaration due 30 September 2027 · Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 as corrected by 2026/1740 (European Commission data, not legally binding)
CN Explanatory Notes
The European Commission's explanatory notes on how to classify goods in these CN codes. They are not legally binding but customs authorities follow them; they complement the HS Explanatory Notes of the World Customs Organization.
General notes to the chapter
IRON AND STEEL
General
A. There is a number of ways of distinguishing between forged and rolled products, where this distinction needs to be made (headings 7207, 7214, 7216, 7218, 7224 and 7228).
If the whole piece is available, it should first of all be examined for the way the cross-section varies:
- if the variations are not regularly repeated, the product is forged;
- if, on the other hand, there are regularly repeated variations, or if the cross-section is constant, the product may be forged or rolled. In this case, all the following criteria should be examined:
1. dimensions of the cross-section
If these are large (cross-section with an area of more than 150 000 mm2), the product is probably forged. If they are small (minimum dimension less than 15 mm), the product is probably rolled;
2. shape of the cross-section
If it is simple (for example, square, rectangular, round, hexagonal, etc.), the product may be either rolled or forged, whereas products of a more complex shape are almost always obtained by rolling;
3. length
If a product is more than 5 m long, it is almost certainly rolled; if it is shorter, it may be either rolled or forged;
4. dimensional tolerances
The tolerances in the dimensions of the cross-section are stricter in rolled products than in forged products;
5. metallographic aspect
Since, normally, the reduction ratio of rolled products is significantly greater than for forged products, it is almost always possible to distinguish between them by examination under a microscope.
The principal factors to be examined are inclusions and structure:
(a) inclusions in rolled products are thin, very elongated and almost perfectly parallel to the direction of rolling; in forged products, on the other hand, they are less elongated (almost elliptical in shape) and are not perfectly parallel;
(b) the structure of rolled products examined after annealing, if the product has been hardened and tempered, has almost perfectly rectilinear division marks parallel to the direction of rolling. In forged products, on the other hand, this is much less common and sometimes almost non-existent;
6. quantity
Forged products are generally delivered in small quantities.
Rolling can be carried out either hot or cold. Depending on the shape of the piece to be rolled and on the shape and positioning of the rollers, the process can be used to produce flat products, such as sheet and plate or hoop and strip, or bars and rods of round or polygonal cross-section, or sections of varying cross-sections, tubes, pipes, etc.
B. For the definition of certain types of plastic deformation (such as rolling, forging, stamping), see the HS General Explanatory Note to Chapter 72, part (IV), (A) and (B).
C. For the difference between hot-rolled or hot-drawn products and products obtained or finished in the cold state, see the HS General Explanatory Note to Chapter 72, part (IV), (B), final paragraph.
Some of the above differences between hot-rolled and cold-rolled products may be diminished or eliminated when cold-rolled products are annealed; equally, in the case of hot-rolled products which have a light cold-finishing, the differences are limited to surface hardness and appearance.
Hot-rolled or hot-drawn bars, rods, shapes, angles and sections may be cold-finished by drawing or other processes — notably, rectification or calibration — giving the product a better finish. This operation renders them classifiable as ‘cold-formed or cold-finished’.
However, cold dressing and rough scaling are not considered to be rectification or calibration processes, and therefore do not affect the classification of bars, rods, angles, shapes and sections, not further worked than hot-rolled or extruded. Similarly, such bars and rods, when twisted, are not to be considered as cold-finished.
D. For the definition of cladding, see the HS General Explanatory Note to this chapter, part (IV), (C), (2), (e).
Base metals clad with precious metals, whatever the thickness of the cladding, fall in Chapter 71 (see the HS Explanatory Notes to Chapter 71).
E. For comments on surface treatments, see the HS General Explanatory Note to Chapter 72, part (IV), (C), (2), (d).
F. Unfinished forgings no longer having the rough appearance of pieces roughly shaped by forging of heading 7207, 7218 or 7224 are to be classified in the headings appropriate to the finished articles, which are generally in Chapters 82, 84, 85 and 87. Thus, iron or steel forgings for the manufacture of crankshafts are proper to heading 8483.
Explanatory Notes to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union, Official Journal C (consolidated text and later amendments) · © European Union
This line in earlier years
The Combined Nomenclature of each year, as published in the Official Journal: description, third-country duty and supplementary unit.
| Year | Description | Third-country duty | Supplementary unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore | Free | — |
| 2025 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2024 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2023 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2022 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2021 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2020 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2019 | Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore | Free | — |
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, 7203 10 00 is one of 1 line under subheading 7203.10, ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore.
The third-country duty is free, and quantities are declared in —.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the EU imported direct reduced iron (DRI) (HS 7203.10) worth €475.9m (down 30% on the year before), at an average of €0.28 per kg; United States supplied 38%, followed by Venezuela.
For the same subheading, the UK duty is free, the Türkiye duty is free, the US duty is free, the Canada duty is free, the Mexico duty is 35%, the Brazil duty is free, the Argentina duty is free, the Peru duty is free, the New Zealand duty is free, the Japan duty is free, the Taiwan duty is free, the GCC duty is 5%, the Switzerland duty is free, the Norway duty is free, the North Macedonia duty is 2% and the Nigeria duty is free.
EU member states imported goods of subheading 7203.10 worth US$1bn in 2024; the largest supplier from outside the EU was Russia.
Questions and answers
What is the EU import duty for CN code 7203 10 00?
The third-country duty in the EU Combined Nomenclature is free; the supplementary unit is —. Preferential rates for goods from agreement countries, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Where does the EU import these goods from?
For subheading 7203.10 as a whole, the largest supplier from outside the EU in 2024 was Russia (US$407m), followed by the United States.