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EU officials have announced they will adopt Donald Trump's steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on imports to 50% in a move described as "an existential threat" to the sector in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Exports

Given that 80% of UK steel shipments going to the European Union, this policy shift poses the UK steel industry's most severe crisis, as stated by the industry association speaking for the sector.

New EU Proposals and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed reducing the current allowance for duty-free imports and requiring foreign suppliers to declare where the steel was melted and poured to stop Chinese producers sneaking products in through third nations.

EU steel sector faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Current Framework

The proposals are designed to supersede a import framework that has been in operation for the past seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now considered outdated. To do nothing could have been "fatal" for the sector, a European official said.

Industry Response and Warnings

Nevertheless, Gareth Stace, from the trade association UK Steel, said EU doubling its tariffs would create "the biggest crisis the UK steel industry has ever faced".

He called on the government to "acknowledge the urgent need to put in place domestic protections to protect" the British steel sector – which is affected by a 25% tariff from Trump earlier this year – from the risk of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

This flood of imports "might prove terminal for numerous steel companies.

Union and Political Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at labor union Community, said the proposed changes posed "an existential threat" to British steel production.

Labor and business representatives urged the UK government to begin talks urgently with the EU on country-specific tariff exemptions, pointing out that the UK was now the EU's No 1 export market.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector confronts being "wiped out" through the increased duties on exports to the US along with high energy costs and low-cost Chinese imports.

The steel industry on in both the UK and EU is described as a foundational industry, supplying elemental components in everything from skyscraper structures, wind turbines and railways to household appliances and kitchenware.

Implementation and Next Steps

The new measures must be agreed by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head urging national governments and European parliament members to act fast in backing the proposal.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will impose a fifty percent tariff on imports beyond the quota and require countries exporting into the bloc to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the sanctions.

Exemptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will not be subject to import limits or tariffs because of their strong economic ties in the EEA, the European Union has said.

Alongside the proposal, the EU is seeking a "metals alliance" with the United States to ringfence their respective economies from overcapacity.

The European Union needs to act now, and decisively, prior to all lights go out in significant portions of the European steel sector and its supply networks.