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The European Union have announced they will match the United States' steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on foreign steel to 50% in a action condemned as "a critical danger" to the sector in the UK.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Industry

Given that eighty percent of British exports destined for the EU, this change represents the British steel sector's most severe challenge, as stated by the industry association representing the industry.

European Commission Measures and Rules

Through its proposal submitted to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the European Commission additionally suggested cutting the current allowance for duty-free imports and requiring foreign suppliers to declare the origin of steel production to stop China sneaking products in through other countries.

EU steel sector faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Current Framework

These measures are designed to replace a import framework that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. To do nothing could have been "disastrous" for the sector, a European official stated.

Industry Response and Concerns

However, industry representatives, head of the trade association UK Steel, stated EU increasing duties would pose "the biggest crisis the UK steel industry has encountered".

He called on the UK authorities to "recognise the critical necessity to implement domestic protections to protect" the British steel sector – which is affected by a 25% duty from the US earlier this year – from the risk of millions of tonnes of world steel redirected from American and EU markets.

This surge in foreign steel "could be fatal for numerous steel companies.

Union and Political Calls

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

Unions and industry leaders urged the UK government to begin talks urgently with the European Union on nation-specific tariff exemptions, pointing out that the United Kingdom was now the EU's No 1 trading partner.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for months that their own industry confronts being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on exports to the US along with high energy costs and low-cost Chinese imports.

The steel industry on both sides of the Channel is described as a essential sector, providing elemental components in everything from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and railways to household appliances and kitchenware.

Adoption and Future Actions

These proposals require approval by member states and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head calling on national governments and MEPs to act fast in backing the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the EU will cut its current duty-free quota by 47% to 18.3m tonnes a year, a volume previously recorded in 2013. It will impose a fifty percent tariff on imports beyond the quota and require nations exporting into the EU to state the production origin to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will be exempt from tariff quotas or duties due to their close trading relationship in the EEA, the European Union has said.

In addition to these measures, the EU is seeking a "steel partnership" with the US to protect their national industries from excess production.

The European Union needs to act now, and firmly, before all lights go out in large parts of the EU steel industry and its value chains.