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EU officials declared plans to match Donald Trump's steel tariffs, increasing to double levies on foreign steel to fifty percent in a decision described as "a critical danger" to the industry in the UK.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Industry

With 80% of UK steel shipments going to the European Union, this policy shift represents the UK steel industry's biggest ever crisis, as stated by the lobby group representing the industry.

European Commission Measures and Rules

Through its proposal submitted to the EU legislature this week, the EU executive also proposed reducing the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring foreign suppliers to declare where the steel was melted and poured to stop Chinese producers sneaking products in through third nations.

EU steel sector was on the verge of collapse – these measures safeguard it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Existing System

The proposals are intended to supersede a quota system that has been functioning for the past seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now seen as not fit for purpose. To do nothing could have been "disastrous" for the sector, one EU official stated.

Sector Reaction and Concerns

However, Gareth Stace, from the trade association UK Steel, said Brussels increasing duties would create "the biggest crisis the British steel sector has ever faced".

There were calls for the UK authorities to "acknowledge the urgent need to implement domestic protections to protect" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a twenty-five percent tariff from the US recently – from the threat of vast quantities of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "could be terminal for numerous steel companies.

Labor and Political Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at labor union Community, stated the proposed changes posed "a survival risk" to British steel production.

Unions and industry leaders called on Keir Starmer to begin talks immediately with the EU on country-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the United Kingdom was now the EU's primary trading partner.

Broader Context

Sector representatives in the EU have also been warning for several months that the European steel sector faces being "eliminated" 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 foundational industry, supplying elemental components in products ranging from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Adoption and Future Actions

These proposals require approval by member states and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president urging national governments and MEPs to move quickly in support of the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a volume previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a 50% duty on imports exceeding the limit and oblige nations exporting into the bloc to state the production origin to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to tariff quotas or tariffs due to their close trading relationship in the EEA, the European Union has confirmed.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to protect their national industries from excess production.

The European Union needs to act now, and decisively, before all lights go out in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.