Posted on 29 Jul 2025
A “highly effective” European trade defence measure, due by September 2025, is urgently needed to prevent further collapse, as the European steel industry remains subject to a 50% US tariff with no clear resolution in sight, according to Axel Eggert, director general of the European Steel Association (Eurofer).
The EU and US reached a trade deal on Sunday, ahead of the 1 August deadline for a planned 30% tariff hike, to impose 15% tariffs on most European goods.
Under the terms of the deal, the US will levy a 15% baseline tariff on most EU imports, including cars, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.
Specific details are yet to be released, but US President Trump stated that the current 50% tariffs on EU steel and aluminium would not be reduced to 15%.
In a separate statement, von der Leyen said the EU and the US would “work together to ensure fair global competition. And to reduce barriers between us, tariffs will be cut. And a quota system will be put in place.”
“EU steelmakers cannot wait any longer and trust that this new measure will be highly effective, as envisaged by the Steel and Metals Action Plan, allowing EU steel capacity utilisation at around 85%, aligned with the US, to secure the EU’s economic resilience and strategic autonomy,” said Eggert.
A proposed 15% tariff on all products further endangers steel-intensive EU exports like vehicles and machinery. In 2024, around 760,000 EU vehicles - representing roughly 1 million tonnes of steel - were exported to the US, with these volumes now at risk.
Since 2018, EU steelmakers have lost 30mt in production due to global overcapacity, US Section 232 measures, and weak demand, Kallanish notes from Eurofer.
Source:Kallanish
