EC Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has launched the protectionist plan citing \u201cglobal overcapacity\u201d<\/p>\n
The European Commission has proposed a 50% tariff on steel imports above an annual quota, claiming the move will protect the EU\u2019s metals industry from international competition and US duties.
\nAn agreement struck earlier this year by EC President Ursula von der Leyen\u00a0and US President Donald Trump, viewed in the EU as lopsided, set a baseline 15% US tariff on most exports from the bloc, but left steel and aluminum at 50%.
\nVon der Leyen’s protectionist measure needs approval from the European Parliament but if passed will\u00a0significantly reduce the existing tariff-free\u00a0quota and double the tariff on excess volumes from 25% to 50%.
\nUnder the plan, importers would have to prove where steel was melted and poured, and quotas would be reset close to 2013 levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cGlobal overcapacity is damaging our industry,\u201d von der Leyen said in a statement published by the commission.\u00a0
\nThe EU\u2019s domestic steel sector was operating at only 67% capacity last year, and showed record losses, a slump which was only worsened by Trump\u2019s tariffs.
\nThe US, the bloc\u2019s biggest customer, imported around $8.7 billion worth of iron and steel goods last year, according to S&P Global.
\nHowever, the new tariffs would hit the UK hard, as about 78% of its steel exports go to the EU, according to trade data.<\/p>\n
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UK industry leaders have warned that the new measures could be devastating if implemented, the BBC reported on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EC Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has launched the protectionist plan citing \u201cglobal overcapacity\u201d The European Commission has proposed a 50% tariff on steel imports above an annual quota,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t