China
France trade laneFoshan is one of China's main aluminium-extrusion centres — Dali in Nanhai district is known for its profile makers — and Guangdong fabricates curtain-wall and window systems, racking, metal furniture components and steel structures for export. French contractors, fabricators and distributors buy these alongside fasteners, tubes and fittings from across China.
Steel and aluminium are where EU import rules have tightened most. Since 1 January 2026, CBAM — the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism — has been in its definitive phase: a business importing more than 50 tonnes a year of covered goods must be an authorised CBAM declarant. Since 1 July 2026, an EU tariff-quota regime has replaced the old steel safeguard, and antidumping duties apply to several Chinese steel and aluminium products. These goods are heavily regulated and tariffed, not banned. AGF's Foshan office checks the producer, the documents and the loading; in France, clearance runs through our WCA partner agents and a licensed customs representative. AGF has no office in France.
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Shipping Steel & Aluminium Goods from China to France
Steel is weight cargo: a 20ft container reaches its road-legal payload long before it is full, so dense steel goes in 20ft boxes loaded to the weight limit. Aluminium is the opposite — light and long. Standard 6-metre profiles do not fit inside a 20ft container, whose internal length is just under 6 metres, so they travel in 40ft or 40HC boxes and usually fill them by volume. Oversized structures go on flat racks or breakbulk.
Packing protects the finish: profiles in film-wrapped bundles with ISPM-15 battens, steel protected against condensation on a voyage of five weeks or more. Cargo sails to Le Havre or Dunkirk on Asia–North Europe services or Marseille-Fos on Mediterranean services, via Suez or the Cape as each carrier decides; we confirm the routing and transit per booking.
- 20ft loaded to the weight limit for dense steel; 40ft or 40HC for 6-metre aluminium profiles, which do not fit a 20ft
- Flat rack or breakbulk for oversized structures
- Mill certificates and the producer's emissions data collected before loading
- Foshan-office checks of bundling, protection and marking at loading
What Drives the Cost
- Weight versus volume — steel hits the payload limit, aluminium fills the space
- CBAM: emissions reporting, verification, and certificates for 2026 imports bought from February 2027
- Whether the steel product's quota is open or exhausted when it arrives
- Antidumping or anti-subsidy duty for the specific product and producer
- Packing and surface protection against damage and corrosion
- Default emission values, which cost more than verified actual data from the producer
HS Codes and Duty Notes
Classification guidance only — duty rates change and depend on your exact product. Codes are confirmed with the licensed customs representative at destination before you ship.
| HS Code | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 7604 / 7608 / 7610 | Aluminium bars and profiles, tubes, and structures such as window and curtain-wall frames | Within CBAM. Aluminium extrusions from China have been under EU antidumping duty since 2021 — check the current status and your producer's rate in TARIC. |
| 7308 | Steel structures and parts — frames, towers, racking components | Within CBAM. Structural components sold in the EU generally need CE marking to EN 1090. |
| 7318 | Screws, bolts, nuts and other fasteners of iron or steel | Within CBAM, and iron and steel fasteners from China carry EU antidumping duty with company-specific rates. |
| 7304–7306 | Steel tubes and pipes | Within CBAM and, for many lines, within the EU steel tariff-quota regime. Some products also carry antidumping duty. |
| 7326 / 7616 | Other articles of iron, steel and aluminium | Within CBAM — a broad catch-all that captures many fabricated parts. |
Regulations and Compliance
CBAM — authorised declarant status
Since 1 January 2026, only an authorised CBAM declarant may import CBAM goods — most iron and steel, aluminium and many of their articles — once the importer's total exceeds 50 tonnes in a calendar year. The declarant reports the embedded emissions of the year's imports and surrenders CBAM certificates, which go on sale from 1 February 2027 for 2026 imports. Without verified actual data from the Chinese producer, default values apply and cost more. A customs representative acting as indirect representative can take on the role; otherwise the French importer needs its own authorisation.
CBAM scope is growing
In December 2025 the Commission proposed extending CBAM from 2028 to around 180 downstream products made largely of steel or aluminium, from car parts and appliances to construction products and machinery. Buyers of fabricated metal goods should expect more of their range to come into scope and should start collecting producer emissions data now.
EU steel tariff quotas since 1 July 2026
Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 replaced the EU steel safeguard on 1 July 2026 with annual tariff quotas, cut to roughly half the previous volumes and managed quarterly by product category, with a steep duty once a quota is used up. It covers primary steel categories — flat, long and many tube products — rather than most fabricated articles. Whether your product is in a category, and whether that quota is open when the ship arrives, is checked at quoting.
Antidumping and anti-subsidy duties
Several Chinese steel and aluminium products carry EU antidumping or countervailing duties — aluminium extrusions and iron and steel fasteners among them — often with company-specific rates, and routing through a third country to avoid them is investigated as circumvention. These goods are heavily tariffed, not banned. We check TARIC for your exact product and producer at quoting.
CE marking for structural components
Fabricated structural steel and aluminium components sold in the EU generally need CE marking to EN 1090 under the Construction Products Regulation, which requires certified factory production control at the fabricator. Ask for the certificate before ordering; a fabricator without one cannot supply compliant structural components.
Customs representation, VAT and origin
The French importer needs an EORI number and a customs representative; the declaration must carry the CBAM and trade-defence codes, and the origin of the steel or aluminium must be supported by mill certificates. Import VAT at 20% is accounted for on the return by French VAT-registered businesses.
Door-to-Door Shipping Service
We start with the tariff lines, your annual tonnage of CBAM goods, the producer's emissions data and mill certificates. Our Foshan team checks the producer and the documents, supervises bundling and loading, and photographs the container before it sails.
In France our WCA partner agent and a licensed customs representative lodge the declaration with the CBAM and trade-defence data and arrange heavy trucking to your yard or site. CBAM authorisation and the annual declaration remain the importer's obligations unless the representative takes them on. AGF has no office in France.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CBAM and does it apply to my imports?
Do I need to be an authorised CBAM declarant to import steel into France?
Are there anti-dumping duties on aluminium profiles from China?
How much steel fits in a container from China?
Steel & Aluminium Goods is just one example. AGF ships whatever your business moves — on this lane and beyond. If your commodity isn't covered by one of our guides, tell us what you ship and we'll build the logistics around it.
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