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The European Union declared plans to match the United States' steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on imports to 50% in a decision described as "a critical danger" to the sector in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Exports

Given that eighty percent of UK steel shipments going to the European Union, this policy shift represents the UK steel industry's biggest ever crisis, as stated by the industry association speaking for the sector.

European Commission Measures and Rules

In its plan submitted to the European parliament this week, the EU executive also proposed cutting the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring international producers to disclose the origin of steel production to stop 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 regain competitiveness.

Replacement of Current Framework

The proposals are designed to replace a import framework that has been functioning for the past seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now seen as ineffective. Inaction could have been "disastrous" for the industry, a European official said.

Industry Response and Concerns

However, industry representatives, from the trade association UK Steel, said Brussels increasing duties would create "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has ever faced".

There were calls for the government to "recognise the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to protect" the British steel sector – which is affected by a twenty-five percent duty imposed by Trump recently – from the threat of millions of tonnes of global steel diverted away from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "could be terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Union and Political Pressure

Alasdair McDiarmid, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, said the new measures posed "an existential threat" to UK steel.

Unions and industry leaders urged the UK government to begin talks urgently with the EU on country-specific duty-free quotas, noting that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's primary export market.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for months that their own industry confronts being "wiped out" through the increased duties on exports to the US combined with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition.

The steel industry on both sides of the Channel is considered a foundational industry, supplying basic materials in products ranging from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and railways to household appliances and kitchenware.

Implementation and Next Steps

These proposals must be agreed by EU nations and the European parliament, with the EU executive head calling on national governments and European parliament members to move quickly in backing the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will reduce its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a year, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a 50% duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and require countries shipping to the bloc to state the production origin to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will not be subject to tariff quotas or duties because of their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the EU has confirmed.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the US to protect their respective economies from excess production.

The European Union needs to act now, and firmly, before all lights go out in significant portions of the European steel sector and its value chains.