The European Union has unveiled its toughest plan yet to defend its steel industry, halving the volume of foreign steel that can enter the bloc without tariffs and doubling the duties on imports. The move has alarmed the United Kingdom, which sells most of its steel to the EU.
The plan, announced by the European Commission in Strasbourg, comes as Europe’s steelmakers face what officials call “crushing” competition from China.
It still needs approval from the 27 EU governments and the European Parliament – a process that could take several months.
At the Parliament, many lawmakers welcomed the move as overdue.
“It was time,” said Belgian socialist MEP Kathleen Van Brempt. “It is a good first step. It is essential that we have a plan. We want our own steel because we want reliable green steel. For that, we need a new, full recovery plan. So today is a first step, yes, but we need more.”
EU-US trade deal averts tariff hikes, but sparks unease in Europe
Push for fair trade
Some members of the European Parliament raised concerns that the plan could amount to protectionism and end up hurting European manufacturers that rely on imported steel.
That view was rejected by French centrist MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne of the Renew group, who told RFI the EU’s approach was different from the unilateral tariffs seen in the United States.
“Protectionism, in my view, is what Donald Trump can do and it is deadly,” she said. “So no, we are bringing everyone together to work on trade that is fair and that is win-win for everyone.”
Van Brempt said the plan also sends a long-awaited message to Washington that Europe is ready to defend itself.
“This is a political response, and I appreciate that the Commission is giving political answers,” she said. “But now we need to move forward. We are still only halfway.”
France leads EU fightback against Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs
Concern in UK
The new EU measures will apply not just to steel from China or the United States but also to British exports – a serious blow to a sector that sends most of its output to the EU.
The EU buys about 80 percent of the UK's steel exports, worth nearly €4.5 billion a year.
British steelworkers’ union Community called the EU plan an “existential threat” to the industry.
The head of UK Steel, the country's main industry body, urged the British government to respond.
He said London should start talks with Brussels to avoid a global trade imbalance and warned that other producers such as China could redirect exports to other markets, undercutting British mills.
The industry is hoping for an exemption from the new EU tariffs. Without it, the sector warns that 37 000 jobs linked to British steelmaking could be wiped out.
