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The European Union revealed plans to mirror Donald Trump's import duties on steel, effectively doubling taxes on imports to fifty percent in a move described as "a survival risk" to the sector in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Exports

With eighty percent of British exports going to the EU, this policy shift represents the UK steel industry's biggest ever challenge, as stated by the industry association speaking for the sector.

European Commission Proposals and Rules

Through its proposal submitted to the European parliament this week, the European Commission also proposed slashing the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and requiring foreign suppliers to disclose where the steel was melted and poured to prevent China diverting exports through other countries.

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

Replacement of Current Framework

These measures are intended to supersede a import framework that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered outdated. To do nothing could have been "disastrous" for the industry, one EU official stated.

Sector Response and Warnings

However, Gareth Stace, from the trade association British Steel, said EU doubling its tariffs would create "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has ever faced".

There were calls for the government to "recognise the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to protect" the UK steel industry – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent duty from Trump recently – from the threat of millions of tonnes of world steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

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

Labor and Political Pressure

Union leaders, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union Community, stated the new measures represented "an existential threat" to British steel production.

Labor and business representatives called on Keir Starmer to begin talks immediately with the European Union on country-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the United Kingdom was now the EU's No 1 export market.

Broader Context

Industry leaders in the European Union have also been warning for several months that their own industry faces being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments along with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is described as a foundational industry, supplying elemental components in products ranging from building frameworks, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to household appliances and kitchenware.

Implementation and Next Steps

The new measures require approval by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head urging member states and European parliament members to move quickly in backing the proposal.

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 level previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a 50% duty on foreign steel exceeding the limit and require countries exporting into the bloc to state the production origin to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to import limits or duties because of their close trading relationship in the EEA, the European Union has confirmed.

In addition to these measures, the European Union is seeking a "steel partnership" with the US to ringfence their national industries from excess production.

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