🔗 Share this article

EU officials declared they will mirror the United States' steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on imports to fifty percent in a move described as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Industry

Given that eighty percent of British exports destined for the European Union, this policy shift represents the British steel sector's most severe challenge, as stated by the lobby group speaking for the sector.

European Commission Measures and Rules

In its plan submitted to the EU legislature this week, the European Commission additionally suggested reducing the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and requiring foreign suppliers to disclose where the steel was melted and poured to prevent Chinese producers sneaking products in through other countries.

EU steel sector stood at the brink of failure – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Replacement of Current Framework

These measures are intended to replace a quota system that has been functioning for the past seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. To do nothing could have been "catastrophic" for the sector, one EU official said.

Sector Response and Warnings

Nevertheless, industry representatives, head of the trade association UK Steel, said EU increasing duties would pose "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has encountered".

He called on the UK authorities to "recognise the critical necessity to implement its own measures to protect" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by Trump recently – from the risk of vast quantities of global steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

This flood of imports "might prove fatal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Union and Government Calls

Union leaders, representative at steelworkers' union Community, stated the new measures posed "an existential threat" to British steel production.

Unions and industry leaders urged Keir Starmer to start negotiations immediately with the European Union on nation-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the UK was now the European Union's No 1 trading partner.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the EU have repeatedly cautioned for months that the European steel sector confronts being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with high energy costs and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is described as a essential sector, supplying elemental components in everything from skyscraper structures, wind turbines and railways to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Adoption and Future Actions

These proposals must be agreed by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president urging national governments and MEPs to act fast in backing the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by 47% to 18.3 million tons a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will apply a 50% duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and oblige countries exporting into the EU to state the production origin to prevent circumvention of the sanctions.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will not be subject to tariff quotas or duties because of their strong economic ties in the European Economic Area, the European Union has confirmed.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to protect their respective economies from overcapacity.

EU must take immediate action, and decisively, before all lights go out in large parts of the European steel sector and its supply networks.