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EU officials have announced they will adopt the United States' steel tariffs, effectively doubling levies on foreign steel to fifty percent in a move described as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Industry

Given that 80% of British exports going to the European Union, this policy shift represents the UK steel industry's most severe challenge, according to the industry association speaking for the sector.

New EU Measures and Rules

Through its proposal presented to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the European Commission additionally suggested cutting the current allowance for tariff-exempt steel and requiring foreign suppliers to disclose the origin of steel production to prevent Chinese producers sneaking products in through other countries.

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

Overhaul of Current Framework

The proposals are intended to replace a quota system that has been in operation for the past seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. Inaction could have been "catastrophic" for the industry, a European official stated.

Industry Response and Warnings

However, industry representatives, from the industry body UK Steel, stated Brussels increasing duties would pose "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has encountered".

There were calls for the UK authorities to "recognise the urgent need to implement domestic protections to defend" the UK steel industry – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent duty from Trump earlier this year – from the risk of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

This flood of imports "could be fatal for numerous steel companies.

Labor and Government Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union the industry union, said the new measures posed "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives urged Keir Starmer to start negotiations immediately with the European Union on nation-specific tariff exemptions, pointing out that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's primary export market.

Broader Context

Sector representatives in the European Union have also been warning for months that the European steel sector faces being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on exports to the US along with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is described as a essential sector, providing basic materials in products ranging from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and railways to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Implementation and Future Actions

These proposals must be agreed by EU nations and the European parliament, with the European Commission president urging national governments and MEPs to act fast in backing the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will reduce its existing tariff-free allowance by 47% to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a volume previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent tariff on foreign steel beyond the quota and require countries shipping to the bloc to declare the production origin to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exemptions and Global Partnerships

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

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is seeking a "metals alliance" with the United States to ringfence their national industries from excess production.

The European Union needs to act now, and decisively, before all lights go out in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its value chains.