🔗 Share this article

EU officials revealed plans to mirror the United States' import duties on steel, increasing to double taxes on foreign steel to 50% in a action described as "an existential threat" to the sector in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

Given that 80% of UK steel shipments going to the EU, this policy shift poses the UK steel industry's largest crisis, as stated by the lobby group speaking for the sector.

European Commission Measures and Regulations

In its plan presented to the EU legislature this week, the EU executive additionally suggested cutting the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and obliging international producers to disclose where the steel was melted and poured to prevent China sneaking products in through third nations.

The European steel industry faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and regain competitiveness.

Overhaul of Existing System

These measures are intended to replace a quota system that has been in operation for the past seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. Inaction could have been "catastrophic" for the industry, one EU official said.

Sector Response and Concerns

Nevertheless, industry representatives, head of the trade association UK Steel, said EU doubling its tariffs would pose "the biggest crisis the British steel sector has ever faced".

There were calls for the government to "acknowledge the urgent need to put in place its own measures to protect" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a 25% tariff from Trump recently – from the risk of millions of tonnes of global steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

This flood of imports "might prove fatal for numerous steel companies.

Labor and Political Pressure

Union leaders, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, said the proposed changes posed "a survival risk" to British steel production.

Labor and business representatives urged Keir Starmer to begin talks immediately with the European Union on country-specific duty-free quotas, pointing out that the UK was now the European Union's primary export market.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the EU have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector faces being "eliminated" 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 considered a foundational industry, providing elemental components in everything from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and railways to dishwashers and cutlery.

Implementation and Future Actions

These proposals must be agreed by member states and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head calling on national governments and European parliament members to move quickly in support of the proposal.

If the plan is ratified, the European Union will reduce its current duty-free quota by 47% to 18.3m tonnes a year, a volume last seen in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent duty on imports beyond the quota and oblige countries exporting into the EU to state where the steel was melted and poured to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exemptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will not be subject to import limits or duties due to their strong economic ties in the European Economic Area, the EU has confirmed.

In addition to these measures, the EU is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the US to ringfence their national industries from overcapacity.

The European Union needs to act now, and decisively, before operations cease in large parts of the European steel sector and its supply networks.