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EU officials revealed they will match Donald Trump's steel tariffs, effectively doubling taxes on imports to fifty percent in a action condemned as "an existential threat" to the sector in the UK.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Industry

Given that 80% of UK steel shipments destined for the EU, this change creates the British steel sector's biggest ever crisis, according to the industry association speaking for the sector.

New EU Measures and Regulations

Through its proposal submitted to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed reducing the current allowance for duty-free imports and obliging international producers to state where the steel was melted and poured to stop China sneaking products in through third nations.

EU steel sector faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and regain competitiveness.

Replacement of Existing System

These measures are intended 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quota system that has been in operation for the past seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now seen as outdated. Inaction could have been "catastrophic" for the sector, a European official stated.

Industry Reaction and Concerns

However, industry representatives, from the trade association UK Steel, said Brussels increasing duties would create "the biggest crisis the British steel sector has ever faced".

There were calls for the UK authorities to "recognise the urgent need to put in place domestic protections to defend" the British steel sector – which is affected by a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by the US recently – from the threat of vast quantities of world steel redirected from US and European markets.

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

Labor and Government Calls

Union leaders, assistant general secretary at labor union Community, said the new measures represented "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives urged Keir Starmer to begin talks urgently with the European Union on country-specific duty-free quotas, noting that the UK was now the European Union's primary trading partner.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector confronts being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on exports to the US along with high energy costs and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is described as a essential sector, providing elemental components in everything from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Implementation and Next Steps

These proposals must be agreed by EU nations and the European parliament, with the EU executive head calling on national governments and MEPs to move quickly in backing the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the EU will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a year, a level last seen in 2013. It will impose a fifty percent tariff on imports exceeding the limit and require nations exporting into the bloc to state the production origin to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will be exempt from tariff quotas or tariffs because of their close trading relationship in the EEA, the EU has said.

In addition to these measures, the European Union is seeking a "metals alliance" with the United States to ringfence their respective economies from overcapacity.

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