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The European Union have announced they will adopt the United States' import duties on steel, effectively doubling levies on foreign steel to 50% in a action described as "a critical danger" to the industry in the UK.

Major Challenge for UK Steel Exports

Given that 80% of British exports destined for the European Union, this policy shift poses the UK steel industry's most severe challenge, according to the industry association representing the sector.

European Commission Proposals and Regulations

In its plan submitted to the EU legislature on Tuesday, the European Commission additionally suggested cutting the existing quota for duty-free imports and obliging foreign suppliers to declare where the steel was melted and poured to stop China diverting exports through other countries.

EU steel sector stood at the brink of failure – these measures safeguard it so that investments can be made, reduce emissions, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Current Framework

These measures are designed to supersede a quota system that has been in operation for the last seven years and which is due to expire in 2026 and is now considered ineffective. Inaction could have been "fatal" for the sector, a European official said.

Sector Response and Warnings

However, industry representatives, from the industry body UK Steel, stated Brussels increasing duties would create "the most severe challenge the UK steel industry has ever faced".

He called on the UK authorities to "acknowledge the critical necessity to put in place its own measures to defend" the British steel sector – which is affected by a twenty-five percent tariff imposed by Trump earlier this year – from the threat of millions of tonnes of global steel redirected from US and European markets.

This surge in foreign steel "could be fatal for numerous steel companies.

Union and Political Pressure

Union leaders, representative at labor union the industry union, said the new measures posed "a survival risk" to British steel production.

Unions and industry leaders urged the UK government to begin talks immediately with the EU on nation-specific duty-free quotas, pointing out that the United Kingdom was now the EU's No 1 export market.

Industry Background

Sector representatives in the EU have repeatedly cautioned for several months that the European steel sector confronts being "wiped out" through the new 50% tariffs on American market shipments combined with high energy costs and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is described as a foundational industry, supplying basic materials in everything from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to dishwashers and kitchenware.

Adoption and Future Actions

The new measures require approval by member states and the European parliament, with the European Commission president urging member states and European parliament members to act fast in support of the initiative.

Should approval be granted, the EU will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a annually, a volume previously recorded in 2013. It will apply a 50% duty on foreign steel beyond the quota and oblige nations exporting into the EU to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exceptions and International Cooperation

These European nations will not be subject to import limits or duties because of their strong economic ties in the European Economic Area, the European Union has said.

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

EU needs to act now, and decisively, prior to all lights go out in large parts of the EU steel industry and its value chains.