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EU officials have announced they will match the United States' steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on foreign steel to fifty percent in a action condemned as "a survival risk" to the industry in the UK.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Industry

Given that eighty percent of British exports going to the European Union, this change poses the UK steel industry's most severe crisis, according to the industry association representing the sector.

European Commission Proposals and Rules

Through its proposal presented to the EU legislature this week, the European Commission additionally suggested slashing the current allowance for duty-free imports and requiring international producers to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent Chinese producers sneaking products in through other countries.

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

Overhaul of Current Framework

These measures are designed to replace 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framework that has been in operation for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered outdated. To do nothing could have been "catastrophic" for the sector, one EU official stated.

Sector Response and Warnings

However, industry representatives, head of the trade association UK Steel, said EU increasing duties would pose "the biggest crisis the UK steel industry has encountered".

There were calls for the government to "recognise the urgent need to implement domestic protections to defend" the UK steel industry – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent duty imposed by the US recently – from the threat of vast quantities of world steel diverted away from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "could be fatal for numerous steel companies.

Union and Government Pressure

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

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

Broader Context

Industry leaders in the EU have repeatedly cautioned for months that their own industry faces being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on exports to the US along with high energy costs and cheap Chinese competition.

The steel industry on in both the UK and EU is described as a foundational industry, providing elemental components in products ranging from building frameworks, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Implementation and Next Steps

The new measures require approval by member states and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president urging national governments and European parliament members to move quickly in backing the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the European Union will reduce its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will impose a 50% duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and require nations shipping to the EU to state where the steel was melted and poured to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to import limits or tariffs due to their strong economic ties in the EEA, the EU has confirmed.

In addition to these measures, the EU is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to protect their respective economies from overcapacity.

EU must take immediate action, and decisively, prior to all lights go out in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.