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The European Union declared they will adopt the United States' steel tariffs, effectively doubling levies on foreign steel to fifty percent in a decision described as "a survival risk" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Industry

With eighty percent of British exports destined for the European Union, this policy shift poses the British steel sector's largest challenge, according to the industry association speaking for the sector.

European Commission Proposals and Rules

In its plan presented to the EU legislature this week, the EU executive also proposed cutting the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring international producers to disclose the origin of steel production to prevent China diverting exports through other countries.

EU steel sector faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and regain competitiveness.

Replacement of Existing System

These measures are designed to supersede a quota system that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. To do nothing could have been "catastrophic" for the sector, a European official stated.

Industry Response and Warnings

However, industry representatives, head of the trade association British Steel, stated Brussels doubling its tariffs would pose "the biggest crisis the British steel sector has encountered".

There were calls for the UK authorities to "recognise the urgent need to implement its own measures to protect" the UK steel industry – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by the US earlier this year – from the threat of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "might prove terminal for numerous steel companies.

Labor and Political Calls

Union leaders, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, said the proposed changes posed "an existential threat" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives called on the UK government to begin talks urgently with the European Union on nation-specific duty-free quotas, noting that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's No 1 export market.

Broader Context

Industry leaders in the EU have also been warning for months that the European steel sector faces being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with high energy costs and low-cost Chinese imports.

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

Adoption and Future Actions

These proposals require approval by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head urging national governments and European parliament members to move quickly in support of the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will reduce its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a year, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will impose a 50% tariff on imports beyond the quota and oblige countries shipping to the bloc to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will be exempt from import limits or tariffs due to their strong economic ties in the European Economic Area, the EU has said.

Alongside the proposal, the EU is seeking a "steel partnership" with the United States to ringfence their national industries from overcapacity.

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