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EU officials have announced plans to adopt the United States' steel tariffs, increasing to double taxes on imports to fifty percent in a move condemned as "an existential threat" to the industry in the UK.

Major Challenge for British Steel Exports

Given that 80% of British exports destined for the EU, this change creates the British steel sector's most severe challenge, according to the industry association speaking for the industry.

European Commission Proposals and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the European parliament this week, the European Commission additionally suggested cutting the existing quota for duty-free imports and obliging foreign suppliers to disclose where the steel was melted and poured to prevent China diverting exports through other countries.

EU steel sector was on the verge of collapse – we are protecting it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Existing System

The proposals are designed to replace a quota system that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered outdated. To do nothing could have been "fatal" for the industry, one EU official said.

Industry Reaction and Warnings

Nevertheless, industry representatives, head of the industry body UK Steel, stated EU increasing duties would pose "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has ever faced".

He called on the government to "acknowledge the critical necessity to implement its own measures to protect" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a twenty-five percent tariff from the US earlier this year – from the threat of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

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

Labor and Political Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at labor union the industry union, said the new measures represented "a survival risk" to British steel production.

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

Broader Context

Sector representatives in the European Union have also been warning for months that the European steel sector confronts being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is described as a essential sector, supplying basic materials in everything from skyscraper structures, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to household appliances and cutlery.

Implementation and Next Steps

The new measures must be agreed by EU nations and the European parliament, with the EU executive head calling on member states and MEPs to act fast in backing the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the EU will reduce 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 duty on foreign steel exceeding the limit and oblige countries exporting into the bloc to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will be exempt from import limits or duties because of their strong economic ties in the European Economic Area, the EU has said.

Alongside the proposal, the EU is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the US to protect their respective economies from overcapacity.

The European Union must take immediate action, and firmly, before operations cease in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.