🔗 Share this article

The European Union revealed they will mirror the United States' steel tariffs, increasing to double levies on imports to 50% in a move described as "a critical danger" to the industry in Britain.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Industry

Given that eighty percent of British exports going to the EU, this change creates the UK steel industry's most severe challenge, as stated by the lobby group representing the sector.

European Commission Measures and Regulations

Through its proposal presented to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the EU executive additionally suggested reducing the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and obliging international producers to state the origin of steel production to prevent Chinese producers diverting exports through third nations.

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

Overhaul of Existing System

The proposals 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 "disastrous" for the industry, a European official said.

Sector Reaction and Concerns

However, industry representatives, head of the trade association UK Steel, stated Brussels increasing duties would create "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has ever faced".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place domestic protections to protect" the UK steel industry – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff from Trump recently – from the threat of millions of tonnes of world steel diverted away from US and European markets.

This flood of imports "could be terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Labor and Government Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, stated the proposed changes posed "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Unions and industry leaders called on the UK government to start negotiations urgently with the European Union on nation-specific tariff exemptions, pointing out that the UK was now the European Union's No 1 trading partner.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for months that their own industry confronts being "wiped out" through the increased duties on exports to the US along with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition.

The steel industry on both sides of the Channel is considered a essential sector, supplying basic materials in everything from building frameworks, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to household appliances and kitchenware.

Adoption and Next Steps

The new measures require approval by EU nations and the European parliament, with the European Commission president calling on national governments and MEPs to move quickly 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 year, a volume last seen in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent tariff on foreign steel exceeding the limit and require countries shipping to the bloc to declare where the steel was melted and poured to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will be exempt from import limits or tariffs because of their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the EU has said.

In addition to these measures, the European Union is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the United States to ringfence their respective economies from overcapacity.

EU must take immediate action, and decisively, prior to all lights go out in significant portions of the European steel sector and its value chains.