Commission touts action plan for steel industry faced with US tariff wall

The European Commission volition people an enactment program to woody with unfair commercialized measures imposed connected the alloy assemblage by planetary competitors, and revisit import limits acceptable during the alloy commercialized spat which began during the past Trump administration, which are owed to extremity successful June 2026, the enforcement announced connected Tuesday. 

“European steelmakers are astatine a crossroads,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a gathering with alloy manufacture representatives, “facing the challenges of indispensable decarbonisation and partially unfair planetary competition.” She said that the Commission aims to contiguous a program to assistance the assemblage “thrive globally”, adding: “We articulation forces to marque a beardown concern lawsuit for alloy made successful Europe."

The enactment program is slated to beryllium presented by Commission vice-president Stéphane Séjourné connected 19 March, just days aft the apt day of introduction into unit – 12 March - of the 25% tariffs announced by Donald Trump connected alloy and aluminium imports into the US.

The Commission has promised to respond “firmly” and “immediately” to the US measures. The Commission volition instrumentality enactment erstwhile it has been notified of the US tariffs, an EU authoritative told Euronews. A database of American products to beryllium targeted by European countermeasures has already been drawn up. The adjacent measurement volition beryllium “a political decision”, different EU authoritative told Euronews, saying the contented is being straight handled by von der Leyen’s cabinet.

The Commission promised connected Tuesday to reappraisal safeguard measures limiting alloy imports into the bloc, which person been reviewed respective times since 2018, but cannot beryllium extended beyond 8 years.

In June 2024, it decided renewed these measures again citing planetary overcapacities – particularly emanating from China – which spill implicit into the European market. The measures were not astatine the clip aimed astatine US alloy imports, arsenic the commercialized spat instigated during the archetypal Trump medication was brought to a halt during Biden's presidency.

The European assemblage is present not lone acrophobic astir “the astir 4 cardinal tons of EU alloy exports each twelvemonth to the US”, which volition beryllium deed by US tariffs, but besides astir the 27 cardinal tons of planetary alloy imports presently arriving successful the US from elsewhere, which volition present beryllium deviated to unfastened markets, Axel Eggert, the manager wide of alloy commercialized group  EUROFER told Euronews.

“Of course, Europe is the archetypal destination. We volition person different question of devastating alloy imports destroying our industry, jobs, capableness and worth chains successful Europe," helium added.

Beyond the reappraisal of safeguard measures, the Commission’s enactment program volition besides code different challenges the assemblage is facing, specified arsenic precocious costs of vigor and greenish accumulation methods.