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EU officials have announced plans to adopt the United States' import duties on steel, increasing to double levies on foreign steel to fifty percent in a decision condemned as "an existential threat" to the sector in Britain.

Major Challenge for British Steel Exports

Given that eighty percent of UK steel shipments destined for the European Union, this policy shift poses the British steel sector's most severe crisis, as stated by the industry association speaking for the industry.

New EU Measures and Regulations

In its plan presented to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed slashing the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring foreign suppliers to state where the steel was melted and poured to prevent 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 regain competitiveness.

Overhaul of Existing System

These measures are designed to supersede a quota system that has been in operation for the past seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now seen as outdated. To do nothing could have been "fatal" for the sector, one EU official stated.

Sector Reaction and Concerns

Nevertheless, industry representatives, from the industry body British Steel, said EU increasing duties would pose "the biggest crisis the UK steel industry has encountered".

There were calls for the government to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to defend" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a 25% tariff imposed by Trump recently – from the threat of vast quantities of global steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

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

Union and Government Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, stated the proposed changes represented "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Unions and industry leaders urged Keir Starmer to begin talks urgently with the European Union on country-specific duty-free quotas, pointing out that the United Kingdom was now the EU's primary export market.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the EU have also been warning for months that the European steel sector faces being "eliminated" through the increased duties on American market shipments along with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is described as a essential sector, providing elemental components in products ranging from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and railways to household appliances and cutlery.

Implementation and Future Actions

The new measures require approval by member states and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president calling on national governments and MEPs to move quickly in support of the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will impose a fifty percent duty on imports exceeding the limit and oblige nations shipping to the bloc to state 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 tariff quotas or tariffs because of their close trading relationship in the EEA, the European Union has confirmed.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is seeking a "steel partnership" with the US to ringfence their national industries from excess production.

EU must take immediate action, and decisively, prior to all lights go out in large parts of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.