🔗 Share this article

The European Union have announced they will match the United States' steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on imports to 50% in a decision condemned as "an existential threat" to the sector in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Industry

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

European Commission Proposals and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the European Commission additionally suggested slashing the existing quota for duty-free imports and obliging international producers to disclose where the steel was melted and poured to stop Chinese producers sneaking products in through other countries.

The European steel industry was on the verge of collapse – these measures safeguard it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Replacement of Existing System

The proposals are designed to supersede a import framework that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. To do nothing could have been "fatal" for the industry, a European official said.

Sector Response and Concerns

However, industry representatives, from the industry body British Steel, said EU increasing duties would create "the biggest crisis the British steel sector has ever faced".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the urgent need to put in place domestic protections to protect" the UK steel industry – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent duty from Trump earlier this year – from the threat of vast quantities of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

This flood of imports "could be terminal for numerous steel companies.

Union and Political Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union the industry union, stated the proposed changes posed "an existential threat" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives called on Keir Starmer to start negotiations immediately with the European Union on nation-specific duty-free quotas, noting that the UK was now the EU's primary export market.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector faces being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments along with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a foundational industry, providing elemental components in everything from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to household appliances and kitchenware.

Adoption and Next Steps

The new measures must be agreed by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head urging member states and European parliament members to act fast in support of the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the EU will reduce its current duty-free quota by 47% to 18.3 million tons a year, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will impose a fifty percent tariff on foreign steel beyond the quota and oblige nations shipping to the bloc to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to tariff quotas or duties due to their close trading relationship in the EEA, the EU has said.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is seeking a "metals alliance" with the US to ringfence their national industries from excess production.

EU needs to act now, and decisively, prior to operations cease in large parts of the European steel sector and its value chains.