【By Wang Kaiwen, Observers Network】Last week, the EU was exposed for planning to cut steel import quotas and raise steel import tariffs. "Politico" Europe edition published an article on October 6, stating that this move by the EU could severely hit the UK's steel industry, which is "worse than Trump's tariffs."

According to reports, the EU is preparing to cut foreign steel import quotas by nearly half and impose tariffs as high as 50% on amounts exceeding the quota. These new measures are expected to be formally proposed this Tuesday.

The report pointed out that the US tariffs have already severely hit the UK's already struggling steel manufacturers, and the EU's upcoming trade protection measures may hit them even harder. The EU is the UK's largest steel export market, with about 190 million tons of the UK's annual 400 million tons of steel exported to the EU. In comparison, the US imports only 20 million tons of steel from the UK.

"As a non-EU country, we are more concerned about this issue compared to the US tariffs," said a UK steel exporter who requested anonymity.

He added that the EU's new measures would not only directly affect UK steel exports but also cause trade shifting, where steel originally exported to the EU might be redirected to the UK market, thus intensifying the impact on the UK steel industry.

"There are reports that the European Commission is considering significantly reducing steel safeguard quotas, and we are deeply concerned about this," said Lisa Coulson, Chief Commercial Officer of British Steel. "Such measures could potentially block UK producers from our biggest export market, while the industry is currently fighting against the 25% US tariff."

Carmen Suarez, joint CEO of the UK's Trade Remedies Authority, stated, "Regarding steel, the measures the EU will take are very, very important." She noted that the EU's actions will be closely watched by the UK steel industry and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

"Politico" Europe edition stated that the EU's proposal on steel imports could have a devastating impact on the UK steel industry. In addition to the blow from Trump's tariffs, the UK steel industry itself is in a difficult situation. In April this year, the UK Parliament passed an emergency bill allowing the UK government to take over British Steel to maintain its blast furnaces.

British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, Visual China

At the same time, the EU's move could also damage London's efforts to repair relations with Brussels in recent months. A UK official revealed that the EU has not yet contacted the UK government regarding this issue.

According to reports, the measures the EU is preparing to implement echo a proposal made by France in July, which received support from the European Steel Association (EUROFER) and 11 EU countries including Spain and Italy.

Two UK steel industry sources said that France's proposal received broad support from EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

Sefcovic recently warned that the EU will adopt "very strong trade protection measures" in mid-October.

An EU diplomat said, "Given the current background of new US tariffs, it seems increasingly necessary to adopt a new protection mechanism, which is strongly requested by the European steel industry."

At the "Competing Europe" summit held in Brussels, Matthias Jørgensen, the EU Commission's North America and Canada trade director, stated, "The EU will work with the US to protect our steel production."

While expressing hope for the normalization of steel trade between the Atlantic sides and the cancellation of US tariffs, he pointed the finger at China, threatening to take action to address so-called overcapacity issues from China.

However, UK steel industry sources interviewed said that the measures planned by Europe will be one of the biggest disasters in the history of the UK steel industry, "which is equivalent to cutting off half of our biggest market."

"This could cause significant harm," the source said, adding that the entire industry is in a state of 'high alert.'

The UK government has not yet announced its steel strategy this year. A government spokesperson said, "We support the bright future of British steel, committing to invest up to £2.5 billion to rebuild the steel industry and explore stronger trade measures to protect British steel producers from unfair practices."

The aforementioned spokesperson stated that the UK is waiting for details of the EU's measures.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7558003741547561518/

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