Existential threat': what do EU's 50% steel tariffs mean for UK industry?

"The EU shocked the UK steel industry on Tuesday with an announcement of 50% import tariffs with no apparent carve-out for metal crossing the Channel. The EU is the UK's biggest customer: 78% of all UK steel exports, or 1.9m tonnes, went to the bloc in 2024. The prospect of punitive tariffs on a large chunk of that would make many British products uncompetitive overnight."

"But from 1973 until 2020 the UK was part of the EU, whose forerunner was the European Coal and Steel Community a single market giving easy access to other members of the trade bloc. Brexit has left the UK out in the cold. The European Commission has said Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, who are not in the EU but are integrated into the single market via the European Economic Area, will not be affected by the tariffs or quotas."

EU announced 50% import tariffs on steel with no apparent carve-out for metal crossing the Channel. Seventy-eight percent of UK steel exports—about 1.9m tonnes in 2024—went to the EU, making many British products uncompetitive if tariffs apply. The UK's export reliance stems partly from proximity, particularly high demand from Ireland, and from membership of the EU single market from 1973 to 2020. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, integrated via the European Economic Area, will be exempt from the measures. Both EU and UK steel industries face aging plants, high energy costs and pressure from a Chinese steel glut and existing US tariffs. Capacity utilisation in EU plants fell from nearly 80% in 2008 to 65% in 2024, and industry seeks higher utilisation to improve profitability.

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