🔗 Share this article

EU officials revealed plans to adopt Donald Trump's steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on imports to fifty percent in a action condemned as "a critical danger" to the industry in the UK.

Major Challenge for British Steel Exports

Given that 80% of UK steel shipments going to the European Union, this policy shift poses the UK steel industry's biggest ever challenge, according to the industry association speaking for the sector.

European Commission Proposals and Rules

In its plan presented to the European parliament this week, the EU executive also proposed reducing the current allowance for duty-free imports and obliging international producers to declare the origin of steel production to prevent China diverting exports through other countries.

The European steel industry stood at the brink of failure – these measures safeguard it so that investments can be made, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Replacement of Existing System

The proposals are intended to supersede a import framework that has been in operation for the last 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 stated.

Industry Response and Concerns

Nevertheless, industry representatives, from the industry body UK Steel, said Brussels increasing duties would create "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has encountered".

There were calls for the government to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place domestic protections to defend" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a twenty-five percent duty imposed by Trump recently – from the threat of millions of tonnes of world steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

This surge in foreign steel "might prove fatal for numerous steel companies.

Union and Government Calls

Union leaders, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union Community, said the proposed changes represented "an existential threat" to British steel production.

Unions and industry leaders called on Keir Starmer to start negotiations immediately with the EU on country-specific duty-free quotas, pointing out that the UK was now the European Union's No 1 export market.

Industry Background

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

The steel industry on in both the UK and EU is described as a foundational industry, providing basic materials in everything from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and cutlery.

Adoption and Future Actions

The new measures must be agreed by EU nations and the European parliament, with the EU executive head calling on national governments and MEPs to act fast in backing the proposal.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will apply a 50% tariff on foreign steel beyond the quota and oblige countries shipping to the EU to declare the production origin to prevent circumvention of the sanctions.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will be exempt from import limits or tariffs because of their strong economic ties in the EEA, the EU has said.

In addition to these measures, the EU is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to ringfence their respective economies from excess production.

EU needs to act now, and firmly, before operations cease in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.