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The European Union revealed they will mirror Donald Trump's import duties on steel, increasing to double levies on foreign steel to 50% in a action condemned as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

With eighty percent of UK steel shipments destined for the European Union, this change represents the British steel sector's most severe crisis, according to the industry association speaking for the sector.

New EU Measures and Regulations

In its plan presented to the EU legislature this week, the European Commission also proposed cutting the existing quota for duty-free imports and obliging international producers to declare where the steel was melted and poured to stop China sneaking products in through third nations.

EU steel sector was on the verge of collapse – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, decarbonise, and regain competitiveness.

Replacement of Current Framework

These measures are intended to supersede a quota system that has been functioning for the past seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now seen as not fit for purpose. Inaction could have been "fatal" for the industry, a European official stated.

Sector Reaction and Concerns

However, industry representatives, from the trade association UK Steel, said Brussels increasing duties would create "the biggest crisis the British steel sector has encountered".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to implement domestic protections to protect" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a 25% duty imposed by the US earlier this year – from the threat of millions of tonnes of global steel diverted away from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "might prove terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Labor and Government Pressure

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

Labor and business representatives urged the UK government to start negotiations urgently with the EU on nation-specific duty-free quotas, noting that the UK was now the European Union's primary trading partner.

Broader Context

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

The steel industry on in both the UK and EU is described as a essential sector, providing elemental components in everything from building frameworks, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to household appliances and kitchenware.

Implementation and Next Steps

These proposals must be agreed by member states and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president calling on national governments and MEPs to move quickly in backing the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will reduce its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a year, a level last seen in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent tariff on foreign steel exceeding the limit and require countries shipping to the bloc to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exemptions and Global Partnerships

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will be exempt from import limits or tariffs because of 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 ringfence their national industries from overcapacity.

The European Union must take immediate action, and firmly, before operations cease in large parts of the European steel sector and its value chains.