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The European Union have announced they will match Donald Trump's import duties on steel, effectively doubling taxes on foreign steel to fifty percent in a move described as "a survival risk" to the industry in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Exports

With eighty percent of British exports going to the EU, this policy shift poses the UK steel industry's largest challenge, as stated by the industry association speaking for the sector.

European Commission Measures and Rules

In its plan presented to the European parliament on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed reducing the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and requiring international producers to declare the origin of steel production to prevent Chinese producers sneaking products in through third nations.

EU steel sector stood at the brink of failure – we are protecting it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and regain competitiveness.

Overhaul of Current Framework

These measures are intended to replace 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system that has been in operation for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered outdated. To do nothing could have been "fatal" for the industry, a European official stated.

Sector Reaction and Warnings

Nevertheless, industry representatives, head of the trade association UK Steel, stated EU doubling its tariffs would pose "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has ever faced".

There were calls for the UK authorities to "recognise the urgent need to put in place domestic protections to protect" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a 25% tariff imposed by Trump recently – from the risk of vast quantities of world steel redirected from US and European markets.

This flood of imports "could be terminal for numerous steel companies.

Labor and Government Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union the industry union, said the new measures represented "an existential threat" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives called on the UK government to start negotiations urgently with the EU on country-specific duty-free quotas, pointing out that the UK was now the European Union's primary export market.

Broader Context

Sector representatives in the European Union have also been warning for several months that their own industry confronts being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition.

The steel industry on in both the UK and EU is considered a foundational industry, supplying basic materials in everything from building frameworks, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to household appliances and kitchenware.

Adoption and Future Actions

These proposals must be agreed by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head urging national governments and European parliament members to move quickly in support of the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a year, a volume last seen in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent duty on imports beyond the quota and oblige nations shipping to the EU to state the production origin to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

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

In addition to these measures, the European Union is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the United States to protect their national industries 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.