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EU officials declared plans to match the United States' import duties on steel, effectively doubling levies on imports to 50% in a move described as "an existential threat" to the industry in the UK.

Major Challenge for British Steel Exports

With eighty percent of British exports going to the EU, this policy shift represents the UK steel industry's most severe crisis, as stated by the lobby group speaking for the industry.

European Commission Measures and Regulations

Through its proposal presented to the European parliament this week, the EU executive also proposed slashing the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and requiring foreign suppliers to state where the steel was melted and poured 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.

Overhaul of Current Framework

The proposals are intended to supersede a quota system that has been in operation for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. To do nothing could have been "fatal" for the industry, a European official said.

Sector Response and Warnings

However, industry representatives, head of the trade association UK Steel, said Brussels doubling its tariffs would create "the biggest crisis the UK steel industry has ever faced".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to protect" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff from the US earlier this year – from the threat of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from American and EU markets.

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

Labor and Political Calls

Union leaders, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union Community, stated the new measures posed "a survival risk" to British steel production.

Unions and industry leaders urged Keir Starmer to start negotiations immediately with the European Union on country-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's primary trading partner.

Broader Context

Industry leaders in the European Union have also been warning for several months that the European steel sector faces being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is described as a essential sector, providing basic materials in products ranging from building frameworks, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to household appliances and cutlery.

Adoption and Next Steps

The new measures require approval by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president urging national governments and European parliament members to act fast in support of the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will reduce its current duty-free quota by 47% to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will impose a 50% tariff on imports exceeding the limit and require nations shipping to the bloc to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations 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 pursuing a "metals alliance" with the United States to protect their national industries from overcapacity.

EU must take immediate action, and decisively, prior to operations cease in large parts of the European steel sector and its supply networks.