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EU officials revealed they will mirror Donald Trump's steel tariffs, increasing to double taxes on imports to fifty percent in a move condemned as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Exports

Given that eighty percent of UK steel shipments destined for the European Union, this change creates the UK steel industry's most severe crisis, according to the lobby group representing the industry.

European Commission Proposals and Rules

In its plan presented to the European parliament this week, the EU executive additionally suggested slashing the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and obliging foreign suppliers to state the origin of steel production to stop China sneaking products in through third nations.

The European steel industry faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and regain competitiveness.

Overhaul of Current Framework

The proposals are designed to supersede a import framework that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered outdated. To do nothing could have been "catastrophic" for the industry, one EU official said.

Sector Response and Warnings

However, Gareth Stace, from the industry body UK Steel, said Brussels increasing duties would pose "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has ever faced".

There were calls for the government to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place domestic protections to protect" the British steel sector – which is affected by a twenty-five percent 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 "might prove terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Union and Government Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, representative at steelworkers' union Community, stated the proposed changes posed "a survival risk" to British steel production.

Unions and industry leaders called on Keir Starmer to start negotiations urgently with the European Union on nation-specific tariff exemptions, pointing out that the UK was now the EU's primary export market.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the European Union have also been warning for months that the European steel sector confronts being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on exports to the US along with high energy costs and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a foundational industry, supplying elemental components in products ranging from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to household appliances and kitchenware.

Implementation and Future Actions

The new measures must be agreed by member states and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president calling on member states and MEPs to move quickly in support of the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the European Union 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 impose a 50% duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and require countries exporting into the EU to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to tariff quotas or tariffs due to their close trading relationship in the EEA, the European Union has confirmed.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the United States to ringfence their national industries from overcapacity.

The European Union must take immediate action, and firmly, prior to all lights go out in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its value chains.