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EU officials declared they will match the United States' import duties on steel, increasing to double levies on foreign steel to fifty percent in a action condemned as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Exports

With eighty percent of UK steel shipments going to the EU, this policy shift represents the UK steel industry's largest crisis, as stated by the lobby group speaking for the industry.

New EU Measures and Regulations

Through its proposal submitted to the EU legislature this week, the EU executive also proposed cutting the current allowance for duty-free imports and obliging foreign suppliers to state where the steel was melted and poured to stop China diverting exports through third nations.

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

Overhaul of Current Framework

These measures are intended to supersede a quota system that has been in operation for the last seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now considered not fit for purpose. Inaction could have been "catastrophic" for the sector, a European official stated.

Sector Response and Warnings

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

There were calls for the government to "acknowledge the urgent need to put in place its own measures to protect" the British steel sector – which is affected by a twenty-five percent duty imposed by the US recently – from the risk of vast quantities of world steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

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

Labor and Political Pressure

Union leaders, representative at labor union the industry union, stated the proposed changes posed "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Unions and industry leaders urged Keir Starmer to start negotiations immediately with the EU on country-specific duty-free quotas, pointing out that the UK was now the European Union's No 1 export market.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the EU have also been warning for several months that their own industry confronts being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

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

Adoption and Next Steps

These proposals require approval by EU nations and the European parliament, with the European Commission president urging member states and European parliament members to act fast in support of the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will reduce its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a annually, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent tariff on foreign steel exceeding the limit and require nations exporting into the bloc to declare the production origin to prevent circumvention of the sanctions.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to tariff quotas or tariffs because of their close trading relationship in the EEA, the EU has said.

In addition to these measures, the EU is seeking a "steel partnership" with the United States to protect their respective economies from overcapacity.

EU must take immediate action, and decisively, before operations cease in significant portions of the European steel sector and its value chains.