The EU Commission proposed an expansion of the tariffs to steel. In the future, only half as much steel will be allowed to come into the EU as before. In addition, a surcharge of 50 percent should be due.
The EU Commission wants to protect the European steel industry with significantly higher tariffs from cheap competition from countries like China. The amount of duty-free imports should be almost halved for this, said the responsible EU commissioner Stéphane Séjourné. In addition, a 50 percent customs should be due. If the import quantity exceeds the respective upper limit, an inch of 25 percent has so far been due.
It is about saving European steel producers and jobs. “This is the reintustrialization of Europe,” says Séjourné.
Before the new rules can come into force, the European Parliament and the EU countries still have to agree.
China’s steel industry unchallenged world leaders
The aim of the increased tariffs is that imports into the EU no longer worthwhile above the new, lower upper limit. Imports are supposed to fall, production within the EU is increasing.
Steel imports in the EU are duty -free up to a certain amount per year, and specific quotas apply to large suppliers such as Turkey and India.
The EU in particular accuses China of giving its steel industry an unfair advantage with state aid and ensuring that globally is too much steel on the market. The commission speaks of significantly more than 600 million tons of global overcapacity. She fears that exports that were previously sold to North America will now be increasingly redirected to Europe because of the US tariffs. This could further put pressure on European manufacturers.
According to the world steel association, China produced more than 1,000 million tons last year and thus more than half of the steel worldwide. With the new tariffs, the EU – which actually always loudly pounds on the most barrier -free world trade as possible – would also be strongly sealed off against imports from the Far East. This means that the State Association as an ally of US President Donald Trump can present itself in the fight against China’s export surplus.
Germany particularly affected
With a production of 37 million tons last year, Germany has by far the largest steel industry with a production of 37 million tons – according to industry, Germany is in seventh. But the steel industry suffers from the doldrums in the buyer industry, especially the auto industry. In addition, there are increased energy prices, cheap imports, especially from China and the costs for the conversion to a more climate -friendly steel production. The high tariffs on stahlexports in the USA are also difficult for the industry.
Manufacturers such as the steel division of Thyssenkrupp or the ArcelorMittal group are therefore in crisis. Therefore, the German steel industry has been pushing for new measures for a long time. Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe reacted accordingly to the announcement of the EU Commission. This has launched an important legislative initiative for effective protection of the European steel industry from dumping and global overcapacity, said Stahl boss Dennis Grimm. “The Commission has clearly recognized that the European steel industry and associated value chains are in serious danger without effective trade protection.”
Approval of the advance also comes from the EU Parliament: The CDU MP Dennis Radtke speaks of effective protection for Europe’s industry. Anna Cavazzini from the Greens said: “The proposed steel mechanism is necessary and long overdue.” The SPD trading expert Bernd Lange is also convinced and sees an important stage victory in the commission’s proposal.
The Association of German Machine and Plant Builders (VDMA), on the other hand, warned of rising prices as a result of the tariffs. The association called for a reduction in energy prices that would benefit all branches of industry. The Stahl business association is also committed to lower energy prices.
According to the lobby association, around four million people work in steel -intensive industries in Germany, including around 80,000 for the steel industry. In 2024, the industry recorded a decline in sales for the second time in a row – minus 5.3 billion euros compared to the previous year at 45.3 billion euros. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wants to hold a “steel summit” in autumn to tackle the problems of the industry.
Old mechanism without effect
According to EU information, most steel imports to the EU have so far come from Turkey, South Korea, India, Vietnam, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. A currently valid protective mechanism for the European steel industry expires in June next year. The mechanism dates from the time of the customs dispute during the first term of the US President Donald Trump (2017-2021). The new measures should replace it with a permanent regulation.
Because the EU import rate has so far been so high that it had hardly any effect: in 2024, for example, the EU imported less steel than would have been possible.
