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EU officials declared plans to match the United States' steel tariffs, increasing to double levies on imports to fifty percent in a decision condemned as "a critical danger" to the sector in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

With eighty percent of British exports going to the European Union, this change creates the British steel sector's most severe challenge, according to the lobby group speaking for the sector.

European Commission Proposals and Rules

Through its proposal presented to the European parliament on Tuesday, the European Commission also proposed cutting the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring foreign suppliers to state the origin of steel production to prevent China diverting exports through other countries.

EU steel sector stood at the brink of failure – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, decarbonise, and regain competitiveness.

Overhaul of Current Framework

The proposals are designed to replace a import framework 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 sector, one EU official said.

Sector Reaction and Concerns

Nevertheless, industry representatives, head of the industry body British Steel, stated Brussels doubling its tariffs would pose "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has ever faced".

There were calls for the UK authorities to "recognise the critical necessity to implement its own measures to protect" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a twenty-five percent duty imposed by the US earlier this year – from the threat of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from American and EU markets.

This surge in foreign steel "might prove terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Labor and Political Pressure

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at labor union the industry union, stated the proposed changes posed "an existential threat" to UK steel.

Unions and industry leaders called on the UK government to start negotiations immediately with the EU on nation-specific tariff exemptions, pointing out that the UK was now the European Union's primary trading partner.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the European Union have also been warning for months that the European steel sector confronts being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments along with high energy costs and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is considered a foundational industry, supplying basic materials in products ranging from building frameworks, wind turbines and railways to dishwashers and cutlery.

Adoption and Next Steps

These proposals require approval by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president calling on member states and European parliament members to act fast in support of the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the EU will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a year, a volume last seen in 2013. It will apply a 50% duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and require nations shipping to the EU to state where the steel was melted and poured to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to import limits or duties because of their strong economic ties in the European Economic Area, the European Union has confirmed.

Alongside the proposal, the EU is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to ringfence their respective economies from excess production.

The European Union needs to act now, and decisively, before operations cease in large parts of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.