🔗 Share this article

The European Union revealed they will mirror the United States' import duties on steel, increasing to double levies on imports to fifty percent in a action described as "a survival risk" to the industry in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Exports

With 80% of British exports going to the European Union, this policy shift creates the UK steel industry's biggest ever challenge, according to the lobby group speaking for the sector.

European Commission Proposals and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the European parliament this week, the EU executive also proposed cutting the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and obliging international producers to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent China diverting exports through third nations.

The European steel industry stood at the brink of failure – these measures safeguard it so that it can invest, reduce emissions, and regain competitiveness.

Overhaul of Current Framework

The proposals are designed to supersede a quota system that has been in operation for the past seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now seen as ineffective. Inaction could have been "fatal" for the sector, a European official stated.

Sector Reaction and Concerns

However, Gareth Stace, from the industry body UK Steel, stated Brussels increasing duties would pose "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has ever faced".

There were calls for the UK authorities to "recognise the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to defend" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by the US earlier this year – from the risk of vast quantities of world steel redirected from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "might prove fatal for numerous steel companies.

Labor and Political Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union the industry union, stated the new measures posed "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives urged Keir Starmer to start negotiations urgently with the EU on country-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the UK 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 confronts being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is described as a foundational industry, providing elemental components in everything from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and railways to dishwashers and cutlery.

Adoption and Next Steps

These proposals require approval by member states and the European parliament, with the European Commission president calling on national governments and MEPs to act fast in support of the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the EU will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a year, a volume previously recorded in 2013. It will impose a 50% tariff on imports beyond the quota and require countries shipping to the EU to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

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

In addition to these measures, the EU is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the United States to protect their national industries from overcapacity.

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