The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has issued a cautious response to the recently announced US-EU trade agreement, warning that while a full-blown trade conflict may have been avoided, serious uncertainty and pressure remain on Europe’s steel industry.
Under the deal, the United States will impose 15% tariffs on various EU imports, a move EUROFER says adds strain to steel-intensive sectors such as machinery and vehicles. In 2024 alone, the EU exported around 760,000 vehicles to the US, equivalent to roughly 1 million metric tons (mt) of steel production—steel that now risks being priced out of the market under the new tariff regime.
Axel Eggert, Director General of EUROFER, acknowledged that “further damage was prevented,” but warned the deal “still leaves major questions unanswered,” especially concerning steel.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted at a possible quota system for EU steel exports to the US, though technical details are still pending. “If a zero tariff on our traditional exports to the US is confirmed, we would be going in the right direction,” Eggert said, while stressing that certainty is urgently needed.
The steel sector has already suffered substantial losses since 2018, when the US implemented Section 232 tariffs. According to EUROFER, these tariffs led to the loss of around 1 million mt of EU steel exports to the US, and an additional 30 million mt of lost demand across the EU market and global export destinations due to steel overcapacity from Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East.
EUROFER also raised concerns over more recent US steel tariffs—25% in March and 50% in June 2025—saying they are “already having a further destructive impact” on the European industry.
“EU steelmakers cannot wait any longer,” Eggert stated, calling for swift implementation of the EU's Steel and Metals Action Plan, which he said “must be highly effective to counteract the damage.”
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