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EU officials declared plans to adopt the United States' import duties on steel, effectively doubling taxes on imports to 50% in a move condemned as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Exports

Given that 80% of British exports destined for the European Union, this policy shift creates the UK steel industry's biggest ever challenge, as stated by the lobby group representing the industry.

European Commission Measures and Rules

In its plan presented to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the European Commission also proposed slashing the current allowance for duty-free imports and obliging foreign suppliers to declare the origin of steel production to prevent Chinese producers 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, reduce emissions, and become competitive again.

Replacement of Current Framework

These measures are designed to supersede a quota system that has been functioning for the last seven years and which is set to expire in 2026 and is now considered not fit for purpose. Inaction could have been "catastrophic" for the industry, one EU official stated.

Industry Response and Warnings

However, industry representatives, from the industry body British Steel, said EU increasing duties would pose "the most severe challenge the British steel sector has ever faced".

He called on the government to "recognise the urgent need to implement domestic protections to defend" the British steel sector – which is still reeling from a twenty-five percent duty from Trump earlier this year – from the risk of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

This flood of imports "could be fatal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Labor and Political Pressure

Union leaders, assistant general secretary at labor union the industry union, said the new measures represented "a survival risk" to British steel production.

Unions and industry leaders called on the UK government to begin talks urgently with the EU on nation-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the United Kingdom was now the EU's No 1 trading partner.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the European Union have also been warning for several months that their own industry faces being "eliminated" through the increased duties on American market shipments along with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a essential sector, providing basic materials in products ranging from skyscraper structures, wind turbines and railways to dishwashers and cutlery.

Adoption and Next Steps

These proposals require approval by EU nations and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head urging national governments and European parliament members to move quickly in backing the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the European Union will cut its existing tariff-free allowance by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a fifty percent tariff on foreign steel exceeding the limit and oblige countries shipping to the EU to state the production origin to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exceptions and Global Partnerships

These European nations will not be subject to tariff quotas or duties because of their close trading relationship in the EEA, the EU has said.

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

EU must take immediate action, and firmly, before all lights go out in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.