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The European Union have announced plans to match the United States' import duties on steel, increasing to double taxes on imports to 50% in a decision condemned as "an existential threat" to the industry in the UK.

Major Challenge for British Steel Industry

With 80% of UK steel shipments destined for the European Union, this change creates the British steel sector's biggest ever challenge, as stated by the lobby group speaking for the sector.

European Commission Measures and Regulations

Through its proposal submitted to the European parliament on Tuesday, the European Commission additionally suggested reducing the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and requiring foreign suppliers to state where the steel was melted and poured to prevent China sneaking products in through third nations.

EU steel sector faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that it can invest, reduce emissions, and regain competitiveness.

Overhaul of Existing System

These measures are intended to supersede a import framework that has been functioning for the past seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now seen as not fit for purpose. To do nothing could have been "disastrous" for the industry, a European official said.

Industry Reaction and Warnings

Nevertheless, Gareth Stace, head of the trade association British Steel, said Brussels increasing duties would pose "the biggest crisis the UK steel industry has ever faced".

There were calls for the government to "recognise the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to defend" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a 25% tariff imposed by Trump recently – from the risk of vast quantities of global steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

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

Union and Political Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union the industry union, stated the proposed changes represented "an existential threat" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives called on Keir Starmer 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

Industry leaders in the EU have also been warning for months that their own industry confronts being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments along with high energy costs and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a foundational industry, providing basic materials in everything from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and railways to household appliances and cutlery.

Adoption and Future Actions

The new measures must be agreed by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president calling on national governments and MEPs to move quickly in backing the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will impose a 50% tariff on imports exceeding the limit and oblige nations shipping to the EU to state where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will not be subject to import limits or duties due to their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the EU has said.

In addition to these measures, the EU is seeking a "steel partnership" with the United States to protect their respective economies from excess production.

EU must take immediate action, and decisively, before operations cease in large parts of the European steel sector and its value chains.