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EU officials revealed they will adopt Donald Trump's import duties on steel, increasing to double taxes on imports to fifty percent in a decision described as "a survival risk" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

Given that 80% of UK steel shipments destined for the European Union, this change represents the British steel sector's most severe crisis, according to the industry association representing the industry.

European Commission Measures and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the EU executive also proposed cutting the existing quota for tariff-exempt steel and requiring international producers to state the origin of steel production to prevent China sneaking products in through other countries.

EU steel sector faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Existing System

The proposals are designed to supersede a import framework that has been functioning for the past seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. Inaction could have been "fatal" for the sector, one EU official said.

Sector Response and Warnings

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

He called on the UK authorities to "recognise the critical necessity to put in place domestic protections to defend" the British steel sector – which is affected by a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by the US recently – from the risk of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

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

Union and Government Calls

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

Unions and industry leaders called on the UK government to start negotiations urgently with the EU on nation-specific tariff exemptions, pointing out that the United Kingdom was now the EU's No 1 export market.

Industry Background

Industry leaders in the European Union have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector faces being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on exports to the US along with rising energy prices and low-cost Chinese imports.

The steel industry on both sides of the Channel is considered a essential sector, supplying basic materials in everything from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and railways to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Adoption and Next Steps

The new measures require approval by EU nations and the European parliament, with the EU executive head urging member states and European parliament members to act fast in backing the proposal.

Should approval be granted, the EU will reduce its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3 million tons a annually, a level previously recorded in 2013. It will impose a 50% duty on foreign steel exceeding the limit and require countries shipping to the EU to state where the steel was melted and poured to avoid bypassing of the sanctions.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will not be subject to import limits or tariffs due to their close trading relationship in the European Economic Area, the EU has confirmed.

In addition to these measures, the EU is pursuing a "steel partnership" with the US to ringfence their respective economies from excess production.

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