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EU officials have announced they will adopt Donald Trump's steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on imports to fifty percent in a action described as "a critical danger" to the sector in the UK.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Industry

With 80% of British exports destined for the EU, this change represents the UK steel industry's largest challenge, as stated by the lobby group representing the industry.

New EU Measures and Rules

Through its proposal submitted to the European parliament on Tuesday, the European Commission also proposed reducing the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and obliging foreign suppliers to disclose 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 – 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 seen as not fit for purpose. Inaction could have been "fatal" for the sector, one EU official said.

Sector Response and Warnings

Nevertheless, Gareth Stace, head of the industry body UK Steel, said Brussels doubling its tariffs would pose "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has encountered".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to implement domestic protections to defend" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a 25% duty imposed by Trump recently – from the threat of vast quantities of world steel diverted away from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "might prove terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Labor and Government Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, representative at steelworkers' union Community, said the new measures posed "an existential threat" to UK steel.

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

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the EU have also been warning for months that their own industry faces being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is considered a foundational industry, supplying elemental components in everything from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and cutlery.

Adoption and Future Actions

The new measures require approval by EU nations and the European parliament, with the European Commission president urging member states and MEPs to move quickly in backing the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the European Union will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a year, a volume previously recorded in 2013. It will impose a fifty percent tariff on foreign steel beyond the quota and require nations exporting into the EU to state the production origin to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exemptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will not be subject to tariff quotas or duties because of their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the European Union has said.

In addition to these measures, the European Union is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the United States to ringfence their respective economies from excess production.

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