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EU officials have announced plans to adopt Donald Trump's import duties on steel, effectively doubling levies on imports to 50% in a action condemned as "an existential threat" to the sector in the UK.

Major Challenge for British Steel Industry

Given that 80% of British exports going to the European Union, this policy shift poses the UK steel industry's biggest ever challenge, according to the industry association speaking for the industry.

New EU Proposals and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the EU legislature this week, the European Commission additionally suggested cutting the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring international producers to declare where the steel was melted and poured to stop China sneaking products in through third nations.

The European steel industry stood at the brink of failure – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Replacement of Existing System

The proposals are intended to supersede a import framework that has been in operation for the last seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now seen as not fit for purpose. Inaction could have been "catastrophic" for the sector, one EU official stated.

Industry Reaction and Warnings

However, industry representatives, head of the industry body UK Steel, said EU doubling its tariffs would create "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has encountered".

There were calls for the government to "recognise the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to defend" the UK steel industry – which is affected by a twenty-five percent duty from Trump recently – from the risk of vast quantities of world 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 Calls

Union leaders, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, said the new measures represented "an existential threat" to UK steel.

Unions and industry leaders called on Keir Starmer to start negotiations urgently with the European Union on country-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the UK was now the EU's No 1 trading partner.

Broader Context

Industry leaders in the EU 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 low-cost Chinese imports.

The steel industry on in both the UK and EU is considered a essential sector, providing elemental components in everything from building frameworks, wind turbines and railways to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Adoption 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 act fast in backing the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the EU will reduce its current duty-free quota by 47% to 18.3 million tons a annually, a volume last seen in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent tariff on foreign steel exceeding the limit and require nations exporting into the EU to state the production origin to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exemptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein 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 European Union is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to protect their national industries from excess production.

The European Union must take immediate action, and decisively, prior to all lights go out in significant portions of the European steel sector and its supply networks.