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The European Union revealed plans to mirror the United States' steel tariffs, increasing to double taxes on imports to 50% in a move described as "an existential threat" to the industry in the UK.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Industry

Given that eighty percent of British exports going to the European Union, this policy shift represents the British steel sector's most severe challenge, according to the lobby group speaking for the industry.

New EU Measures and Regulations

Through its proposal presented to the European parliament on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed cutting the existing quota for duty-free imports and requiring international producers to disclose where the steel was melted and poured to stop China sneaking products in through other countries.

The European steel industry was on the verge of collapse – these measures safeguard it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Replacement of Existing System

The proposals 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 considered ineffective. To do nothing could have been "catastrophic" for the industry, one EU official stated.

Industry Response and Concerns

Nevertheless, Gareth Stace, head of the trade association British Steel, stated EU increasing duties would create "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has ever faced".

There were calls for the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place domestic protections to defend" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by the US earlier this year – from the risk of millions of tonnes of world steel redirected from US and European markets.

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

Labor and Government Calls

Union leaders, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union Community, said the new measures represented "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives called on Keir Starmer to begin talks urgently with the European Union on nation-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's primary export market.

Broader Context

Industry leaders in the European Union have also been warning for months that the European steel sector faces being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is considered a foundational industry, supplying elemental components in products ranging from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and railways to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Implementation and Future Actions

The new measures must be agreed by EU nations and the European parliament, with the European Commission president calling on national governments and MEPs to act fast in backing the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will reduce its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a annually, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will impose a fifty percent duty on imports beyond the quota and require nations exporting into the EU to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will be exempt from import limits or tariffs due to their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the European Union has said.

Alongside the proposal, the EU is seeking a "steel partnership" with the US to protect their respective economies from overcapacity.

The European Union must take immediate action, and firmly, prior to all lights go out in large parts of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.