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The European Union revealed plans to mirror the United States' steel tariffs, effectively doubling levies on foreign steel to fifty percent in a decision condemned as "a critical danger" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

With eighty percent of UK steel shipments destined for the EU, this change represents the British steel sector's largest crisis, according to the industry association representing the industry.

European Commission Proposals and Rules

In its plan presented to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the European Commission also proposed cutting the existing quota for duty-free imports and obliging international producers to state where the steel was melted and poured to prevent Chinese producers sneaking products in through other countries.

The European steel industry faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, decarbonise, and regain competitiveness.

Overhaul of Existing System

These measures are intended to supersede a import framework that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now seen as outdated. To do nothing could have been "catastrophic" for the sector, one EU official said.

Sector Reaction and Warnings

Nevertheless, industry representatives, from the trade association British Steel, said Brussels doubling its tariffs would create "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has ever faced".

He called on the government to "acknowledge the critical necessity to implement domestic protections to defend" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by Trump earlier this year – from the risk of vast quantities of world steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

This surge in foreign steel "could be fatal for numerous steel companies.

Union and Government Calls

Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union the industry union, said the proposed changes represented "an existential threat" to British steel production.

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

Broader Context

Sector representatives in the EU have also been warning for months that their own industry confronts being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with high energy costs and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a essential sector, supplying elemental components in everything from skyscraper structures, wind turbines and railways to household appliances and kitchenware.

Implementation and Future Actions

The new measures must be agreed by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the European Commission president urging member states and European parliament members to act fast in backing the initiative.

If the plan is ratified, the EU will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by 47% to 18.3 million tons a year, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and require nations exporting into the bloc to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will be exempt from tariff quotas or duties due to their close trading relationship in the EEA, the European Union has said.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the United States to protect their respective economies from excess production.

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