EU's Steel Tariffs Threaten to Breach Post-Brexit Free Trade Deal

Strategic Insights -

Britain's former senior trade negotiator, Sir Crawford Falconer, has warned that the European Union's threat to levy crippling tariffs on British steel is illegal and would breach the post-Brexit free trade deal. The EU's proposal to reduce the amount of steel that can be imported from 28 million tonnes to just 18.3 million tonnes, with everything beyond this being taxed at 50pc, has been met with a robust response from the UK, with British officials viewing the EU's proposals as a breach of the Brexit deal.

Key Takeaways:

  • The EU's threat to impose tariffs on British steel is illegal and would breach the post-Brexit free trade deal, according to Britain's former senior trade negotiator, Sir Crawford Falconer.
  • The EU's proposal to reduce the amount of steel that can be imported from 28 million tonnes to just 18.3 million tonnes would result in significant losses for the UK steel industry.
  • Almost 80pc of Britain's steel exports currently go to the EU, making the tariffs a significant threat to the industry.
  • Sir Crawford Falconer has warned that the EU's tactics are hypocritical, as they criticized Donald Trump for adopting similar measures earlier this year.
  • The UK is pushing the EU for urgent clarification of the impact of the tariffs on the UK steel industry.
  • British officials are pressing Brussels to honour its commitments and will be negotiating a carve-out for Britain following warnings that the tariffs could prove fatal for many steel exporters.
  • Sir Crawford Falconer has advised Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to argue strongly that the EU has no legal basis to impose the tariffs and to negotiate hard with them.

Statistics:

  • 80pc of Britain's steel exports go to the EU (UK Steel)
  • 28 million tonnes is the current limit on steel imports from the non-EU world (EU proposal)
  • 18.3 million tonnes is the proposed new limit on steel imports from the non-EU world (EU proposal)
  • 50pc is the proposed tariff rate for steel imports above the new limit (EU proposal)
  • Almost 12,000 people are employed in the British steel industry (UK Steel)

Sources:

  • UK Steel
  • The Telegraph: "EU's steel tariffs threaten to breach post-Brexit free trade deal" (article date not available, original publication date not specified)
  • Source not available for Stéphane Séjourné's quote