🔗 Share this article European Union's Plan to Match US Steel Tariffs Poses 'Survival Risk' to UK's Steel Sector EU officials declared plans to adopt the United States' import duties on steel, effectively doubling levies on imports to fifty percent in a move described as "a survival risk" to the sector in Britain. Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Industry Given that eighty percent of British exports going to the EU, this policy shift poses the British steel sector's biggest ever crisis, according to the industry association representing the industry. European Commission Measures and Regulations In its plan presented to the European parliament on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed reducing the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and obliging foreign suppliers to disclose where the steel was melted and poured to prevent Chinese producers sneaking products in through third nations. The European steel industry faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and regain competitiveness. Replacement of Current Framework These measures are intended to supersede a quota system that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now seen as outdated. Inaction could have been "fatal" for the sector, one EU official said. Sector Reaction and Warnings Nevertheless, Gareth Stace, from the industry body British Steel, stated Brussels increasing duties would pose "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has encountered". He called on the government to "acknowledge the urgent need to implement its own measures to protect" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff from Trump earlier this year – from the risk of millions of tonnes of global 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 steelworkers' union Community, stated the proposed changes posed "an existential threat" to UK steel. Labor and business representatives urged the UK government to start negotiations immediately with the European Union on country-specific duty-free quotas, noting that the UK was now the European Union's No 1 trading partner. Industry Background Sector representatives in the European Union have also been warning for several months that the European steel sector confronts being "eliminated" through the increased duties on American market shipments 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, supplying basic materials in products ranging from building frameworks, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to household appliances and kitchenware. Implementation and Next Steps The new measures must be agreed by member states and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president calling on national governments and European parliament members to act fast in support of the proposal. If the plan is ratified, the European Union will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a year, a level last seen in 2013. It will impose a fifty percent duty on imports beyond the quota and oblige countries shipping to the EU to state the production origin to prevent circumvention of the sanctions. Exceptions and Global Partnerships These European nations will be exempt from import limits or duties because of their close trading relationship in the EEA, the European Union has confirmed. In addition to these measures, the EU is seeking a "metals alliance" with the United States to ringfence their respective economies from overcapacity. EU needs to act now, and firmly, before all lights go out in large parts of the European steel sector and its value chains.