The European Union proposed Tuesday cutting free-trade quotas by 47 per cent on steel and steel products, effectively adding large tariffs on imports from countries like China, India, Turkiye, and the United Kingdom, which said the measures would wreck the British steel industry.
After importing 18.3 million tonnes, the new quota, additional imports will face up to 50 per cent in new tariffs, a high price akin to US President Donald Trump’s steel measures. Neighbouring nations like Norway, Iceland and Ukraine will be exempt.
A proposal to thwart overcapacity
The proposal attempts to buttress Europe’s traditional steel manufacturers by imposing trade barriers to stem the flooding of Europe’s markets with imports diverted by those high American tariffs.
Steel importers would be required to clearly declare where the products were melted and poured, and a complex quota system would govern what enters the EU common market. The proposal replaces a current steel safeguard policy aligned w
