IN LONDON: The European Union’s steel exports to the US fell by 30% in H2 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, after the imposition of 50% tariffs according to new data from Eurostat.
The expansion of the US tariff regime to include downstream steel-intensive products, such as machinery and equipment, is expected to amplify its impact on EU steel producers and their customers.
Eurofer, Europe’s steel association, says the figures highlight the need for any EU-US trade agreement to be fair, balanced and enforceable. Upcoming discussions on the EU-US trade agreement is due to take place in the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee on 24 February 2026.
Eurofer’s Director General Axel Eggert says a 30% decline in steel exports to the US within just six months is a clear indication that the 50% tariffs imposed by the US Government is damaging the industry.
“The US decision to include EU downstream steel products, such as machinery, will have another huge negative impact on us and our European customers,” Eggert says.
“Commitments on tariffs must translate into real and balanced market conditions for industry on both sides of the Atlantic. But so far, we are still waiting to hear whether the arrangement will secure meaningful EU steel access to the US market or a joint response to global steel overcapacity.”
With the EU steel safeguards set to expire in June 2026, Eurofer says the industry stresses that the transition to the EU’s new steel trade measure currently in negotiation, must be agreed and put in place no later than 1 July 2026.
According to WorldSteel, the EU’s indirect steel imports rose from 96 million tonnes in 2014 to 121 million tonnes in 2024. At the same time, China’s indirect steel exports nearly doubled from around 82 million tonnes five years ago to 127 million tonnes in 2024.
Steel is a versatile industrial material, with thousands of different grades and types of steel developed by the industry making the modern world possible.
The European steel industry has turned over around €215 billion and directly employs around 298,000 highly skilled people, producing on average 146 million tonnes of steel per year.
More than 500 steel production sites across 22 EU member states provide direct and indirect employment to millions more European citizens.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Unsplash
