The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina proposes a 200-day, 30% customs duty on steel imports. This action responds to an initiative by local steel producer Nova Željezara Zenica after data revealed a large growth in foreign steel shipments.

Reinforcing mesh imports in 2025 surged by 192.87% above the four-year average, with Serbian and Italian supply growing by 408.45% and 105.7%, respectively. Moreover, imports of coiled ribbed concrete steel from Turkey soared by 885.2%, and those from Serbia greatly increased by 113.2% compared to the average of the previous four years.

The Ministry said this abnormal pressure leaves domestic capacities unused and creates a risky dependency on imports. The Council of Ministers intends to impose this temporary tax in order to prevent possible job losses, investment drops, and the permanent destruction of the domestic manufacturing sector.