China
Germany trade laneGerman fabricators, contractors, machine builders and distributors buy steel and aluminium goods from China: aluminium profiles and façade systems from Foshan's extrusion cluster, steel structures and racking, fasteners, tubes and fittings, and fabricated parts. In 2026 the rules changed more than the prices. CBAM's definitive period began on 1 January, the EU replaced its steel safeguard with a tighter quota regime on 1 July, and since 1 October importers have had to state where the steel was melted and poured.
In Germany CBAM is run by the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) at the Federal Environment Agency, and customs can refuse to release CBAM goods to an importer above the threshold who lacks the authorisation. These goods are heavily regulated and tariffed, not banned. The work is getting the codes, the tonnage and the producer's data right before the order is placed.
AGF's own office in Foshan checks the producer, the mill certificates, the bundling and the loading, and asks suppliers for the emissions data CBAM needs. In Germany, clearance runs through our WCA partner agent and its customs representative, who can also act as your indirect representative; AGF has no office in Germany.
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Shipping Steel & Aluminium Goods from China to Germany
Steel is weight cargo: a 20ft container reaches its payload limit long before it is full, so dense goods — fasteners, plate, fittings — travel in 20ft boxes loaded to the limit. German road rules allow 40 tonnes gross for an ordinary truck, and 44 tonnes when the container's road leg runs to or from the nearest suitable rail terminal, or a seaport or inland port within 150 km in a straight line — so heavier boxes for inland sites are often planned by rail or barge to a terminal near the delivery address, with a short truck run at the end. Aluminium is the opposite: 6-metre profiles do not fit inside a 20ft container, whose internal length is just under 6 metres, so they travel in 40ft boxes and usually fill them by volume.
Oversized structures go on flat racks or as breakbulk; Hamburg's heavy-lift terminals handle single pieces of more than 400 tonnes, and Rotterdam with a Rhine barge suits heavy cargo bound for the Ruhr. Via Suez, South China to Hamburg, Bremerhaven or Rotterdam usually takes roughly four to five weeks port to port, and a sailing that still goes around the Cape adds roughly 10–15 days, so steel needs protection against condensation. We confirm the routing per sailing. Middle Corridor rail is possible for urgent parts but is rarely economic for heavy steel.
- 20ft loaded to the weight limit for dense steel; 40ft for 6-metre aluminium profiles
- Flat rack, open top or breakbulk for long and oversized structures
- Rail or Rhine barge from the port for heavy loads; road legs planned to German weight limits
- Mill certificates (EN 10204 type 3.1) and the producer's emissions data collected before loading
- Blocking, lashing and condensation protection for a voyage of five weeks or more
- Loading supervised and photographed by our Foshan team
What Drives the Cost
- CBAM certificates — and verified producer data versus default values, which carry a mark-up
- Whether the steel category's quota is open or used up when the goods are declared
- Anti-dumping or anti-subsidy duty for the specific product and producer
- Weight versus volume — steel hits the payload limit, aluminium fills the space
- Flat rack, breakbulk or heavy-lift handling, and rail, barge or heavy-truck delivery
- EU duty on the line, plus 19% import VAT that VAT-registered buyers deduct
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 7308 | Steel structures and parts — frames, halls, towers, platforms, pallet racking | A CBAM good. Structural components need CE marking to EN 1090-1. Shelving can classify as metal furniture in chapter 94, outside CBAM — settle it before booking. |
| 7604 / 7608 / 7610 | Aluminium bars and profiles, tubes, and structures — windows, doors, façades | CBAM goods. Chinese aluminium extrusions stay under EU anti-dumping duty while the expiry review opened in March 2026 runs; rates differ by producer. |
| 7318 | Screws, bolts, nuts, washers and other fasteners of iron or steel | A CBAM good. Non-stainless fasteners from China carry EU anti-dumping duty due to expire in February 2027 unless a review is opened — checked at quoting. |
| 7304 – 7306 | Steel tubes and pipes, seamless and welded | CBAM goods; many fall into categories of the EU steel quota regime, and several Chinese tube, pipe and fitting products carry anti-dumping duty. |
| 7208 – 7229 | Flat-rolled and long steel — plate, coil, sheet, bars, sections | Core categories of the steel quota regime and of CBAM; the melt-and-pour country has had to be declared since 1 October 2026. |
| 7326 / 7616 | Other articles of iron, steel or aluminium — brackets, fabricated parts, fittings | Both inside CBAM today — a broad catch-all that captures many fabricated parts. |
Regulations and Compliance
CBAM: authorised declarant above 50 tonnes a year
Since 1 January 2026, an importer bringing more than 50 tonnes of CBAM goods into the EU in a calendar year — iron and steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers counted together — must be an authorised CBAM declarant, and once the threshold is crossed the whole year's imports count. In Germany the status is granted by the DEHSt, and a newcomer must hold it before the shipment that takes it over the threshold. A German indirect customs representative can hold the role for you, and must where the importer is not established in the EU.
CBAM: emissions data, certificates and deadlines
The declarant reports the emissions embedded in each year's imports and surrenders CBAM certificates, priced from EU emissions-trading auctions. Certificates go on sale on 1 February 2027, and the DEHSt expects those for 2026 imports to be surrendered by 30 September 2027. The number due is reduced for as long as EU steelmakers still receive free emission allowances, a reduction that phases out by 2034. Verified installation-level data from the Chinese producer usually costs less than the Commission's default values, which include a mark-up — ask for it before you order.
CBAM is widening to downstream goods
In December 2025 the Commission proposed extending CBAM from 1 January 2028 to around 180 downstream products made largely of steel or aluminium, such as machinery parts, appliances and metal furniture; the Council and Parliament positions adopted in 2026 are wider, and the text is now in negotiation. Buyers of fabricated metal goods should expect more of their range to come into scope and start collecting producer data now.
The EU steel regime since 1 July 2026
Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 replaced the steel safeguard with annual tariff quotas by product category and country — roughly half the previous total volume, managed quarterly — with a much higher duty once a quota is used up, and no fixed end date. Since 1 October 2026 the importer must state the country where the steel was first melted and poured, backed by evidence such as the mill certificate. For now the data is collected for information, but the Commission may use it to allocate quotas from October 2027. The regime reaches primary flat, long and tube products more than fabricated articles; we check the category and the quota balance at quoting.
Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties
Many Chinese steel and aluminium products carry EU anti-dumping or countervailing duties with producer-specific rates — aluminium extrusions, iron and steel fasteners, tinplate and several tube, pipe and fitting products among them — and they apply on top of the ordinary duty, CBAM and any out-of-quota duty. Routing through a third country to avoid them is investigated as circumvention. These goods are heavily tariffed, not banned; we check the TARIC measure for your product and producer at quoting.
CE marking to EN 1090 and mill certificates
Fabricated structural steel and aluminium components sold in the EU need CE marking under the Construction Products Regulation against EN 1090-1: a declaration of performance, the execution class, and factory production control certified by a notified body. The new Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 is phasing in while existing harmonised standards stay in use. German buyers and site engineers also expect inspection certificates to DIN EN 10204 type 3.1 that trace to the heat — the same document that now supports the melt-and-pour declaration. Ask for both before ordering.
Customs, EORI and import VAT in Germany
Your company needs an EORI number, applied for through the Zoll-Portal since 1 October 2026. Our partner's customs representative lodges the declaration in ATLAS with your CBAM authorisation, the TARIC trade-defence codes and the net mass, which also counts towards your CBAM tonnage. Import VAT is 19%, deductible for VAT-registered businesses and payable through a deferment account (Aufschubkonto).
Door-to-Door Shipping Service
We start with the product list, the CN codes and your annual tonnage of CBAM goods, agreed with the customs representative, so CBAM, quota and anti-dumping exposure is known before the order is placed.
Our Foshan team checks the producer and the mill certificates, requests the emissions data, and supervises bundling, lashing and loading, photographing each container.
We prepare the Chinese export declaration and the ICS2 data and book the sailing — 20ft, 40ft, flat rack or breakbulk as the cargo needs — via Suez or the Cape, confirmed per sailing.
At Hamburg, Bremerhaven or Rotterdam our WCA partner coordinates discharge and any heavy-lift handling, and its customs representative clears the goods with the CBAM and melt-and-pour data.
Delivery follows by rail, barge or heavy truck to your yard, plant or site, with unloading planned against the equipment there.
After year-end, you or your indirect representative file the CBAM declaration and surrender certificates; we provide the shipment weights and documents for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be an authorised CBAM declarant to import steel into Germany?
When do I have to buy CBAM certificates for 2026 steel imports?
What is the EU melt-and-pour requirement for steel imports?
Are there anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel and aluminium in the EU?
How much steel can a 20ft container carry to Germany?
Do steel structures from China need CE marking in Germany?
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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