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EU officials revealed plans to match Donald Trump's import duties on steel, effectively doubling levies on imports to fifty percent in a move condemned as "a survival risk" to the sector in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for UK Steel Industry

With eighty percent of British exports destined for the EU, this policy shift poses the British steel sector's biggest ever challenge, according to the lobby group speaking for the industry.

European Commission Measures and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the European parliament this week, the European Commission additionally suggested slashing the existing quota for duty-free imports and requiring international producers to state where the steel was melted and poured to stop China sneaking products in through other countries.

EU steel sector was on the verge of collapse – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and become competitive again.

Replacement of Current Framework

The proposals are intended to supersede a quota system that has been in operation for the past seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now seen as ineffective. To do nothing could have been "disastrous" for the industry, a European official said.

Industry Response and Warnings

However, Gareth Stace, from the trade association British Steel, stated EU increasing duties would pose "the biggest crisis the British steel sector has ever faced".

There were calls for the government 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 risk of millions of tonnes of world steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

This flood of imports "might prove terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Union and Political Pressure

Union leaders, representative at steelworkers' union Community, said the new measures represented "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives urged Keir Starmer to start negotiations immediately with the EU on nation-specific tariff exemptions, pointing out that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's No 1 trading partner.

Broader Context

Industry leaders in the European Union have also been warning for months that the European steel sector confronts being "eliminated" through the increased duties on American market shipments along with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is described as a essential sector, providing elemental components in everything from skyscraper structures, wind turbines and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and cutlery.

Implementation and Future Actions

These proposals require approval by member states and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head calling on member states and MEPs to move quickly in support of the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the EU will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a level last seen in 2013. It will impose a 50% tariff on imports exceeding the limit and oblige countries shipping to the bloc to declare where the steel was melted and poured to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will be exempt from import limits or tariffs because of their close trading relationship in the EEA, the European Union has said.

In addition to these measures, the EU is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the United States to ringfence their national industries from overcapacity.

The European Union needs to act now, and firmly, prior to operations cease in significant portions of the European steel sector and its value chains.