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The European Union have announced plans to adopt the United States' import duties on steel, increasing to double levies on foreign steel to 50% in a move condemned as "an existential threat" to the industry in Britain.

Unprecedented Crisis for British Steel Industry

Given that 80% of British exports destined for the EU, this change creates the British steel sector's largest crisis, as stated by the lobby group speaking for the sector.

New EU Proposals and Rules

Through its proposal submitted to the EU legislature this week, the EU executive additionally suggested slashing the existing quota for duty-free imports and obliging foreign suppliers to declare the origin of steel production to prevent Chinese producers diverting exports through third nations.

The European steel industry faced potential collapse – we are protecting it so that investments can be made, decarbonise, and become competitive again.

Overhaul of Current Framework

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

Sector Reaction and Warnings

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

He called on the government to "recognise the urgent need to implement its own measures to protect" the British steel sector – which is affected by a twenty-five percent duty from the US earlier this year – from the risk of millions of tonnes of world steel diverted away from American and EU markets.

This surge in foreign steel "might prove terminal for many of our remaining steel companies.

Union and Government Calls

Union leaders, assistant general secretary at steelworkers' union the industry union, stated the proposed changes posed "a survival risk" to UK steel.

Labor and business representatives called on the UK government to begin talks urgently with the European Union on country-specific tariff exemptions, noting that the United Kingdom was now the European Union's No 1 trading partner.

Broader Context

Sector representatives in the EU have repeatedly cautioned for months that their own industry confronts being "wiped out" through the increased duties on American market shipments along with high energy costs and low-cost Chinese imports.

Steel on in both the UK and EU is considered a foundational industry, supplying basic materials in everything from building frameworks, renewable energy equipment and transport infrastructure to household appliances and cutlery.

Adoption and Next Steps

The new measures must be agreed by member states and the EU legislature, with the EU executive head urging national governments and European parliament members to act fast in support of the proposal.

If the plan is ratified, the European Union will cut its current duty-free quota by forty-seven percent to 18.3m tonnes a year, a volume previously recorded in 2013. It will impose a 50% tariff on foreign steel beyond the quota and require nations exporting into the EU to declare the production origin to avoid bypassing of the measures.

Exemptions and Global Partnerships

Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will not be subject to tariff quotas or tariffs because of their strong economic ties in the European Economic Area, the EU has confirmed.

In addition to these measures, the EU is pursuing a "metals alliance" with the US to ringfence their national industries from overcapacity.

EU must take immediate action, and decisively, before operations cease in significant portions of the EU steel industry and its supply networks.