Stephane Sejourne, European Commission's executive vice-president for prosperity and industrial strategy, said Tuesday during a press conference that a move to raise EU steel tariffs is an effort to protect the steel industry in Europe. Photo by Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA
Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The European Union has announced it will match President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel, causing the United Kingdom's steel industry to quake.
The new tariffs would cause a crisis in the U.K. steel industry, as 80% of British exports are to the EU, according to a lobbying group representing the sector. Unions said the tariffs could kill the industry, The Guardian reported.
The European Commission's plan would sharply cut the amount of steel that can be imported to the EU without tariffs to 18.3 million tons a year, an almost 50% drop, and would almost double the tariff rate to 50%.
The EU's goal is to cut down on global overcapacity, which brings cheap steel from China and hurts steel jobs in Europe, the New York Times reported. It is also a reaction to Trump's tariffs on EU steel, which could increase the likelihood that global producers will send their steel to Europe, flooding the market.
