EU's Proposal to Align With US Steel Tariffs Spurs 'Existential Threat' to British Steel Industry

The European Union have announced they will mirror Donald Trump's import duties on steel, increasing to double taxes on imports to fifty percent in a action described as "a survival risk" to the industry in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

With eighty percent of British exports going to the European Union, this policy shift poses the British steel sector's most severe crisis, as stated by the lobby group speaking for the industry.

New EU Proposals and Regulations

Through its proposal presented to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed cutting the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and obliging international producers to state where the steel was melted and poured to prevent Chinese producers diverting exports through other countries.

The European steel industry was on the verge of collapse – we are protecting it so that it can invest, reduce emissions, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Current Framework

These measures are designed to replace a quota system that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now considered not fit for purpose. Inaction could have been "disastrous" for the industry, one EU official stated.

Sector Reaction and Concerns

Nevertheless, industry representatives, head of the industry body UK Steel, stated EU increasing duties would pose "the biggest crisis the British steel sector has encountered".

He called on the government to "acknowledge the critical necessity to implement its own measures to defend" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a 25% duty from Trump earlier this year – from the threat of vast quantities of world steel diverted away from US and European markets.

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

Labor and Political Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, representative at labor union Community, stated the new measures represented "an existential threat" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives urged the UK government to begin talks urgently with the EU on nation-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the United Kingdom was now the EU's No 1 trading partner.

Industry Background

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

Steel on in both the UK and EU is described as a foundational industry, providing elemental components in products ranging from skyscraper structures, wind turbines and railways to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Adoption and Future Actions

These proposals must be agreed by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head calling on member states and MEPs to act fast in backing the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a annually, a level last seen in 2013. It will apply a 50% tariff on imports exceeding the limit and require nations shipping to the EU to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will not be subject to import limits or tariffs due to their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the European Union has confirmed.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the United States to protect their national industries from excess production.

The European Union must take immediate action, and firmly, before operations cease in significant portions of the European steel sector and its supply networks.