The European Union’s executive arm on Tuesday proposed a sharp increase in steel tariffs as it raced to protect the bloc’s steel industry from Chinese competition, a move that is likely to impose painful costs on Britain and other close trading partners.
The European Commission’s proposal would slash the amount of steel that can be imported without incurring tariffs to 18.3 million tons per year, a nearly a 50 percent reduction from the 2024 quota.
At the same time, it would double the tariff on steel imported above that quota, pushing it to 50 percent.
The goal is to hit back against global overcapacity, as cheap steel imported from China and elsewhere gain market share in Europe and cost steelworker jobs across the 27-nation bloc.
The commission’s move is also a reaction to America’s recent steel tariffs, which have imposed levies on imports of 25 percent for Britain and 50 percent for steel from other countries. Those higher tariffs increase the risk that global producers will try to send their steel to Europe, where until now they have faced friendlier trade terms.
“Global overcapacity is damaging our industry,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said in a statement announcing the proposal.
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