The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has called for immediate action from the European Commission in response to the United States' decision to double tariffs on steel imports to 50 percent. The group warns that without swift implementation of the Commission’s promised “highly effective trade measure,” the European steel market could face a severe downturn.
The U.S. hike in tariffs, announced in 2025, is expected to divert up to 27 million metric tons of steel—previously headed to the U.S.—towards Europe, exacerbating what EUROFER describes as a crisis of global steel overcapacity and market flooding.
Currently, import penetration in the EU has surged to 30 percent, raising alarm among producers. EUROFER emphasized that this influx of cheap foreign steel is already putting heavy pressure on domestic manufacturers.
Adding to the strain, 3.8 million metric tons of EU steel exports to the U.S. are now effectively blocked, as the 50 percent tariff renders even Europe’s most competitive, high-quality products nonviable in the American market.
“We need the Commission’s promised ‘highly effective trade measure’ as a lifeline, and we need it now,” said Axel Eggert, EUROFER’s Director General. “If we wait until 2026, when the current EU steel safeguard expires, much of our industry will already be submerged beyond recovery.”
Eggert also urged a revival of EU-U.S. trade talks, which stalled in 2024, arguing that a joint solution to global overcapacity is crucial to preserving Europe's export potential.
EUROFER is calling for urgent and coordinated policy measures to defend the EU market from the destabilizing effects of redirected steel exports and global excess supply.
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