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EU officials declared plans to mirror Donald Trump's import duties on steel, increasing to double taxes on imports to fifty percent in a action described as "a survival risk" to the industry in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

With eighty percent of British exports going to the EU, this policy shift represents the British steel sector's most severe crisis, as stated by the industry association speaking for the sector.

European Commission Proposals and Rules

Through its proposal submitted to the European parliament this week, the European Commission additionally suggested reducing the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and obliging international producers to disclose the origin of steel production to stop China sneaking products in through other countries.

The European steel industry faced potential collapse – these measures safeguard it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and regain competitiveness.

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 ineffective. Inaction could have been "catastrophic" for the industry, one EU official stated.

Industry Response and Concerns

Nevertheless, Gareth Stace, from the industry body UK Steel, stated EU doubling its tariffs would pose "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has encountered".

He called on the government to "acknowledge the urgent need to put in place its own measures to defend" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by Trump earlier this year – from the risk of millions of tonnes of world steel diverted away from US and European markets.

This flood of imports "could be fatal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Union and Political Calls

Union leaders, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, stated the new measures represented "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Unions and industry leaders called on the UK government to start negotiations urgently with the European Union on nation-specific duty-free quotas, noting that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's primary export market.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector 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 essential sector, providing basic materials in products ranging from building frameworks, wind turbines and railways to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Implementation and Future Actions

These proposals require approval by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president urging member states and MEPs to move quickly in support of the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will impose a 50% duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and require countries exporting into the bloc to declare the production origin to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will not be subject to tariff quotas or tariffs because of their strong economic ties in the EEA, the European Union has said.

In addition to these measures, the European Union is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to ringfence their respective economies 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 value chains.