🔗 Share this article

The European Union revealed they will adopt Donald Trump's import duties on steel, increasing to double taxes on foreign steel to 50% in a decision described as "a survival risk" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Industry

Given that 80% of UK steel shipments going to the EU, this policy shift creates the UK steel industry's biggest ever challenge, as stated by the industry association representing the sector.

New EU Proposals and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the European parliament this week, the EU executive also proposed slashing the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and obliging foreign suppliers to declare where the steel was melted and poured to stop China diverting exports through other countries.

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 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. Inaction could have been "fatal" for the sector, a European official stated.

Industry Reaction and Warnings

Nevertheless, Gareth Stace, head of the industry body British Steel, said EU increasing duties would create "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has encountered".

He called on the government to "acknowledge the urgent need to implement domestic protections to defend" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a 25% duty imposed by Trump earlier this year – from the threat of millions of tonnes of world steel redirected from American and EU markets.

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

Union and Government Pressure

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

Unions and industry leaders called on the UK government to start negotiations urgently with the EU on country-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the UK was now the EU's primary export market.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the EU have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector confronts being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on exports to the US along with high energy costs and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a essential sector, providing basic materials in everything from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and cutlery.

Adoption and Future Actions

The new measures must be agreed by member states and the European parliament, with the EU executive head urging member states and MEPs to act fast in support of 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 year, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent duty on foreign steel exceeding the limit and oblige countries exporting into the bloc to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exemptions and Global Partnerships

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to import limits or duties due to 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 US to ringfence their respective economies from excess production.

EU must take immediate action, and firmly, before operations cease in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.