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EU officials revealed plans to mirror the United States' import duties on steel, increasing to double taxes on imports to fifty percent in a action condemned as "a survival risk" to the industry in the UK.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

With eighty percent of UK steel shipments going to the European Union, this policy shift represents the British steel sector's most severe crisis, according to the industry association representing the industry.

New EU Measures and Rules

In its plan submitted to the EU legislature this week, the European Commission additionally suggested reducing the existing quota for duty-free imports and requiring international producers to declare the origin of steel production to stop Chinese producers sneaking products in through other countries.

The European steel industry faced potential collapse – these measures safeguard it so that it can invest, reduce emissions, and regain competitiveness.

Replacement of Current Framework

These measures are designed to supersede a import framework that has been in operation for the past seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered not fit for purpose. To do nothing could have been "disastrous" for the industry, one EU official stated.

Sector Reaction and Concerns

However, Gareth Stace, from the industry body UK Steel, stated EU doubling its tariffs would pose "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has encountered".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to defend" the UK steel industry – which is still reeling from a 25% tariff imposed by the US earlier this year – from the threat of millions of tonnes of world 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 Government Pressure

Alasdair McDiarmid, representative at steelworkers' union the industry union, said the new measures posed "an existential threat" to British steel production.

Unions and industry leaders urged the UK government to start negotiations immediately with the EU on country-specific duty-free quotas, pointing out that the UK was now the European Union's primary trading partner.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector faces being "eliminated" through the new 50% tariffs on exports to the US combined with high energy costs and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on both sides of the Channel is considered a essential sector, providing basic materials in everything from building frameworks, 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 European Commission president calling on member states and European parliament members to act fast in backing the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the EU will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a annually, a level last seen in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent duty on imports beyond the quota and oblige nations shipping to the bloc to declare where the steel was melted and poured to prevent circumvention of the measures.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will be exempt from tariff quotas or duties due to their strong economic ties in the European Economic Area, the European Union has said.

Alongside the proposal, the European Union is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the United States to ringfence their respective economies from excess production.

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