BRUSSELS — The EU announced Tuesday it would double its tariffs on steel to 50 percent, in line with U.S. levels, in a bid to bring the Trump administration to the negotiating table and hammer out a deal to get them back down again.
The proposal, details of which were already reported by POLITICO, would also slash tariff-free quotas by 47 percent to 18.3 million metric tons — in a bid to address global overproduction and a slump in European output that has left a third of its steel production capacity idle.
“A strong, decarbonised steel sector is vital for the European Union’s competitiveness, economic security and strategic autonomy,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Global overcapacity is damaging our industry. We need to act now.”
The measures would put up a barrier for cheap steel that is made with an unfair advantage compared with the EU’s steel industry, which faces decreasing demand and high energy prices.
