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The European Union have announced they will mirror Donald Trump's import duties on steel, effectively doubling levies on imports to fifty percent in a action condemned as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Exports

With 80% of UK steel shipments going to the European Union, this change represents the UK steel industry's biggest ever challenge, as stated by the lobby group speaking for the industry.

European Commission Measures and Rules

Through its proposal submitted to the European parliament this week, the European Commission additionally suggested cutting the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring international producers to state where the steel was melted and poured to stop China diverting exports through other countries.

The European steel industry stood at the brink of failure – these measures safeguard it so that investments can be made, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Current Framework

These measures are designed to replace a import framework that has been in operation for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now seen as not fit for purpose. Inaction could have been "disastrous" for the industry, a European official said.

Industry Response and Warnings

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

He called on the government to "recognise the urgent need to implement domestic protections to protect" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent duty imposed by Trump recently – from the threat of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "could be terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Union and Political Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at labor union the industry union, stated the new measures posed "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Unions and industry leaders called on Keir Starmer to begin talks immediately with the EU on country-specific duty-free quotas, pointing out that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's No 1 trading partner.

Broader Context

Industry leaders 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 along with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a foundational industry, supplying basic materials in products ranging from skyscraper structures, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to household appliances and cutlery.

Implementation and Next Steps

The new measures require approval by EU nations and the European parliament, with the European Commission president urging member states and European parliament members to move quickly in support of the proposal.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will reduce its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a level last seen in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent tariff on imports beyond the quota and require countries exporting into the EU to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exemptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will not be subject to import limits or tariffs because of their close trading relationship in the EEA, the EU has said.

In addition to these measures, the EU is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to ringfence their national industries from overcapacity.

EU needs to act now, and firmly, before all lights go out in significant portions of the European steel sector and its supply networks.