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The European Union revealed they will match Donald Trump's steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on imports to 50% in a action condemned as "a survival risk" to the sector in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Exports

With eighty percent of British exports destined for the European Union, this policy shift poses the UK steel industry's largest challenge, according to the lobby group representing the sector.

New EU Measures and Rules

In its plan presented to the EU legislature this week, the EU executive also proposed reducing the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring international producers to state where the steel was melted and poured to prevent Chinese producers diverting exports through third nations.

The European steel industry stood at the brink of failure – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Existing System

These measures are designed to replace a quota system that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered outdated.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 "catastrophic" for the industry, a European official stated.

Industry Response and Concerns

However, industry representatives, from the trade association UK Steel, stated EU doubling its tariffs would create "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has encountered".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to implement its own measures to protect" the British steel sector – which is affected by a twenty-five percent tariff from Trump recently – from the threat of vast quantities of world steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

This flood of imports "might prove fatal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Labor and Political Pressure

Union leaders, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union Community, said the proposed changes represented "a survival risk" to UK steel.

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

Broader Context

Industry leaders in the EU have repeatedly cautioned for months that the European steel sector faces being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments along with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition.

The steel industry on both sides of the Channel is considered a foundational industry, supplying elemental components in products ranging from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Implementation and Future Actions

These proposals must be agreed by EU nations and the European parliament, with the EU executive head calling on member states and MEPs to act fast in support of the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the EU will reduce its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a year, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a 50% duty on imports exceeding the limit and require nations exporting into the bloc to state the production origin to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will be exempt from tariff quotas or duties due to their close trading relationship in the EEA, the EU has confirmed.

Alongside the proposal, 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 EU steel industry and its value chains.