🔗 Share this article EU's Plan to Align With US Steel Tariffs Spurs 'Existential Threat' to British Steel Industry The European Union declared plans to adopt the United States' steel tariffs, increasing to double levies on imports to 50% in a move described as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain. Major Challenge for UK Steel Exports With eighty percent of British exports going to the European Union, this change creates the British steel sector's most severe crisis, as stated by the industry association speaking for the sector. European Commission Proposals and Regulations Through its proposal presented to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed slashing the current allowance for duty-free imports and obliging international producers to state the origin of steel production to stop Chinese producers sneaking products in through third nations. The European steel industry stood at the brink of failure – these measures safeguard it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and regain competitiveness. Overhaul of Existing System The proposals are designed to supersede a import framework that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now considered outdated. To do nothing could have been "catastrophic" for the industry, a European official stated. Sector Reaction and Warnings However, Gareth Stace, head of the trade association British Steel, said Brussels doubling its tariffs would create "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has ever faced". He called on the UK authorities 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 global steel redirected from American and EU markets. This flood of imports "might prove fatal for many of our remaining steel companies. Union and Government Pressure Union leaders, representative at labor union Community, stated the proposed changes represented "a survival risk" to UK steel. Labor and business representatives urged Keir Starmer to start negotiations immediately with the European Union on nation-specific duty-free quotas, noting that the UK was now the European Union's No 1 export market. Broader Context Industry leaders in the EU have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector faces being "wiped out" through the increased duties on American market shipments along with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition. The steel industry on both sides of the Channel is described as a foundational industry, providing elemental components in everything from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to household appliances and kitchenware. Adoption and Future Actions The new measures must be agreed by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head calling on member states and European parliament members to move quickly in backing the initiative. Should approval be granted, the European Union will reduce its existing tariff-free allowance by 47% to 18.3 million tons a year, a volume last seen in 2013. It will impose a 50% duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and oblige nations shipping to the bloc to state where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the sanctions. Exemptions and Global Partnerships Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will be exempt from import limits or duties because of their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the European Union has said. In addition to these measures, the EU is seeking a "steel partnership" with the US to ringfence their respective economies from excess production. The European Union must take immediate action, and firmly, prior to all lights go out in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.