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The European Union revealed plans to mirror the United States' import duties on steel, increasing to double levies on imports to fifty percent in a decision described as "an existential threat" to the sector in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Exports

Given that 80% of British exports going to the EU, this change poses the British steel sector's biggest ever challenge, as stated by the lobby group representing the sector.

European Commission Measures and Rules

In its plan submitted to the EU legislature this week, the European Commission also proposed cutting the current allowance for duty-free imports and obliging international producers to disclose the origin of steel production to prevent China sneaking products in through third nations.

The European steel industry stood at the brink of failure – we are protecting it so that it can invest, reduce emissions, and regain competitiveness.

Replacement 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 considered ineffective. Inaction could have been "disastrous" for the sector, a European official said.

Sector Response and Warnings

However, Gareth Stace, head of the trade association British Steel, said EU increasing duties would create "the biggest crisis the UK steel industry has encountered".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to protect" the UK steel industry – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent tariff from the US recently – from the threat of vast quantities of global steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

This surge in foreign steel "could be fatal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Labor and Political Pressure

Alasdair McDiarmid, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, stated the new measures represented "a survival risk" to British steel production.

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

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the European Union have also been warning for months that their own industry confronts being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments along with rising energy prices and cheap Chinese competition.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a foundational industry, supplying elemental components in everything from building frameworks, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Implementation and Next Steps

The new measures must be agreed by member states and the European parliament, with the European Commission president calling on member states and MEPs to move quickly in backing the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the EU will reduce its current duty-free quota by 47% to 18.3m tonnes a year, a volume last seen in 2013. It will apply a 50% tariff on foreign steel exceeding the limit and oblige countries exporting into the EU to state where the steel was melted and poured to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will be exempt from tariff quotas or duties because of their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the EU has confirmed.

In addition to these measures, the European Union is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the United States to protect their national industries from excess production.

EU needs to act now, and decisively, before all lights go out in large parts of the EU steel industry and its value chains.