The European Union’s decision to hike steel tariffs and sharply cut import quotas has provoked widespread concern in the UK, as well as rumblings of discontent among carmakers on the continent.
The bloc announced plans to reduce tariff-free quotas on imported steel – proposing a reduction of 47% compared to 2024 steel quotas – and to hike tariffs from 25% to 50% on any excess imports.
The European Commission said the measures were a response to calls from workers, industry and several member states “to offer strong and permanent protection to the EU steel industry, with a view to safeguarding EU jobs, and supporting the sector in its decarbonisation efforts.”
The proposal will replace the steel safeguard measure, which is set to expire by June 2026.
The tariff hike provoked an immediate outcry in the UK, with the country’s beleaguered steel industry already suffering a number of body blows, including steelworks closures leading to thousands of job losses, and U.S. tariffs of 25% on steel exports to the States.
“This is perhaps the biggest crisis the U.K. steel industry has ever faced,” Gareth Stace, director general of industry body UK Steel said.
“Government must go all out to leverage our trading relationship with the European Union to secure UK country quotas or potentially face disaster,” he added
Emily Sawicz, Director and Industrials Senior Analyst at RSM UK, said the EU’s announcement was a “significant threat” to the U.K.’s steel industry.
“The EU accounts for around 80% of U.K. steel exports, so these tariffs risk cutting off access to the U.K.’s largest and most strategically important market at a time when the sector is already under immense pressure from global competition and rising energy costs,” she added.
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