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EU steel tariff hike threatens ‘biggest crisis’ for UK industry
The EU has announced plans to hike tariffs on imported steel in a move the UK’s steel industry has said could be “perhaps the biggest crisis” it has ever faced.
The commission has set out plans to cut the amount of steel that can be imported into the bloc by half – beyond which the new 50% tariffs will apply.
The EU is the UK’s most important export destination for steel, worth nearly £3bn and representing 78% of steel products made in the UK for overseas markets.
The commission has come under pressure from some member states and their steel industries, which have been struggling to compete with cheap imports from countries like China and Turkey.
The EU is proposing to reduce tariff-free quotas for imports to 18.3 million tonnes a year – a 47% reduction from 2024 levels.
The new measures will come into force early next year, but will first need to be approved by the majority of EU member states and the European Parliament.
“We have global over capacity, unfair competition, state aid, and undercutting in prices and we are reacting to that”, Stéphane Séjourné, the European Commission’s executive vice president for prosperity and industrial strategy.
“Eighteen thousand jobs were lost in the steel sector in 2024. That’s too many, and we had to put a stop to that”, he told a news conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The announcement is another blow to the UK steel industry, after a proposed deal to eliminate tariffs on UK steel exports to the US was put on hold indefinitely in September.
Several firms were already in dire financial straits.
The government took control of Chinese-owned plants in Scunthorpe earlier this year, while Liberty Steel plants in Rotherham and Stocksbridge collapsed into government control last month.
Speaking on his way to India on Tuesday, the prime minister said there would be “strong support” from the government for the British steel industry, which could be severely impacted by EU tariffs.
“I’ll be able to tell you more in due course, but we are in discussions as you’d expect”, Sir Keir Starmer said, refusing to go into the details of any discussion, including whether the UK was seeking exemptions from the rules.
Responding to the announcement, the director general of UK Steel, Gareth Stace, said the government “must go all out to leverage our trading relationship with the European Union to secure UK country quotas or potentially face disaster”.
The move by the European Union is partly a response to US President Donald Trump, who sharply raised tariffs on foreign steel earlier this year, citing concern about China and has pushed other countries to take similar steps.
Canada, Mexico and Brazil have also moved to increase protections for domestic steelmakers, responding to concerns about those firms losing business in the US while facing increased competition at home from shipments shifting from America.
Mr Stace cautioned now against the EU’s measures “redirecting millions of tonnes of steel towards the UK”, something which could be “terminal for many of our remaining steel companies”.
The Community Union, representing UK steelworkers, called the measures an “existential threat” to the industry.
Asked about UK concerns, European trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said at a press conference that he expected to “fully engage” with the UK on this issue, suggesting that a specific UK quota might be negotiated in the future.
In a statement, the Department for Business said it was “pushing the European Commission for urgent clarification of the impact of this move on the UK”.
“It’s vital we protect trade flows between the UK and EU and we will work with our closest allies to address global challenges rather than adding to our industries’ woes”, Industry Minister Chris McDonald said.
“This government has shown its commitment to our steel industry by securing preferential access to the US market for our exporters, and we continue to explore stronger trade measures to protect UK steel producers from unfair behaviours.”
The government said the industry minister will meet steel representatives on Thursday to discuss their concerns.
Liam Bates is UK managing director at Marcegaglia in Sheffield, which makes stainless steel products and exports to the EU. He said the announcement was a “big blow”.
“It must be amongst the biggest challenges we’ve faced for a very long time. Now the big question is on the detail. Will there be any deal done by the UK government to soften the blow?”
“We have no tariffs on Europe themselves, so you would expect some reciprocity on that, so that we are not treated in the same way. That’s the detail we’re hoping the government should work towards”, he said.
In the meantime, he said future trade with EU customers is a concern.
“We have good relationships with our customers, and we will be communicating with them, but it puts a strain on our business immediately.”
“Our customers are in there for the long term, and so there will be a question over whether there’s a long-term relationship that can still be had in the face of these quotas.”
NEW DELHI: Govt on Saturday significantly increased export duties on diesel and aviation turbine fuel to dissuade oil refiners from exporting these fuels and to ensure adequate availability in the domestic market amid ongoing tensions in West Asia. The ministry of finance issued a series of notifications hiking the export duty on diesel by more than 150% – from Rs 21.5 per litre to Rs 55.5 per litre – with immediate effect. The levy on ATF, or jet fuel, was increased from Rs 29.5 per litre to Rs 42 per litre. The export duty on petrol continues to be nil. Under the revised structure, the special additional excise duty on high-speed diesel has been raised to Rs 24 per litre, while the road and infrastructure cess now stands at Rs 36 per litre, which means a large chunk will now flow to the Centre. Govt said these duties are not meant to boost revenue, but to stop fuel exporters from taking undue advantage of price differences. The Centre had, on March 27, imposed an export duty of Rs 21.5 per litre on diesel and Rs 29.5 per litre on ATF in a bid to check windfall gains, as fuel was in short supply in international markets due to a squeeze on energy supplies amid the military conflict and export curbs imposed by China. It had also slashed excise duty on diesel and petrol to shield consumers and oil companies from the impact of high crude prices. Retail prices of automobile fuels in India have not increased despite high volatility in the international crude market, while only a small part of the international price pressure has been passed on to domestic flights. The windfall tax on exports of diesel and ATF helps the Centre partly offset the impact of the excise duty cut. On March 27, govt had estimated revenue gains from export duties at around Rs 1,500 crore in a fortnight. The further hike in export duties is likely to lead to higher revenue gains. In a statement, the ministry of petroleum had said, “At a time when international diesel prices have surged sharply, the levy is designed to disincentivise exports and ensure that refinery output is directed first tow-ards meeting domestic demand.“
A convoy of vans, lorries, tractors, and even a limousine took part in a slow moving protest around the town centre on Saturday afternoon.
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With the new tax year’s allowance now in effect – worth £20,000 per person – we asked five experts to pick one fund they would be willing to buy into themselves.
While not recommendations for everybody, they offer food for thought, as well as better diversification and lower risk than buying individual company shares.
Scottish Mortgage FTSE 100
Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
Brodie-Smith is going for the Scottish Mortgage FTSE 100 investment trust managed by Baillie Gifford.
This company invests around the world in exciting private companies like SpaceX and Revolut, as well as public-listed companies like Meta, Nvidia and ASML.
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Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.
Capital at risk.
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They are aiming to invest in the companies shaping the future – a mix of technology, healthcare, consumer services and more. The trust currently trades on a 5 per cent discount and has low charges of 0.31 per cent. This is an investment trust for long-term investors with a high appetite for risk.
This fund went up 27 per cent in the last year and is up 68 per cent over five years.
iShares Over 15 Years Gilts Index Fund (UK)
Alan Miller, CIO at SCM Direct
This fund tracks the FTSE Actuaries UK Conventional Gilts Over 15 Years Index and is therefore a fund investing solely in sterling-denominated UK government bonds, with a minimum remaining maturity of 15 years. It holds 27 gilts, has net assets of £2.95bn, and carries a Morningstar Gold medal.
There are no performance fees and a charge of just 0.1 per cent a year.
Miller says: “One of the most compelling opportunities in the market is hiding in plain sight: UK government bonds.
“Here’s the number that stops people in their tracks: 4.95 per cent compounded over 10 years is a 62 per cent return before charges, backed entirely by the UK government and sheltered from tax inside an ISA.”
Gilt yields are close to multi-decade highs. Locking in a yield to maturity of nearly 5 per cent inside an ISA wrapper, where all income and gains are tax-free, is exceptional by historical standards, and at an ongoing charge of just 0.1 per cent per annum, virtually nothing is lost to fees.
He adds: “Boring has rarely looked this good. It’s the kind of deal most active fund managers can only dream of offering.”
This fund is basically flat over the last year and up 9 per cent over five years. That’s because interest rates have been very low – as they are now higher, it should fare better from here.
Man Income
Paul Agnell, head of investment research, AJ Bell
Of the Man Income fund, Agnell says: “The fund’s pragmatic and analytical managers, Henry Dixon and Jack Barrat, invest in undervalued UK companies across the market cap spectrum, which are paying a yield at least in line with the market. In order to avoid value traps, the managers also look at a firm’s cashflow and assets.”
So, the team seek out undervalued and unloved companies, of which the UK market continues to present opportunities.
Their investment process centres on identifying two types of stocks: those trading below their replacement cost (what it would cost today to replace a company’s assets and operations) that are also cash generative, and those where the market appears to be undervaluing profit streams.
The fund has made an excellent start to 2026, up over 10 per cent in the first two months alone and was up 28 per cent over 2025. Banks were a key contributor over 2025, led by Lloyds, but with strong contributions also coming from Barclays and Standard Chartered.
The charge on the Man Income fund is 0.9 per cent.
Murray International
Philippa Maffioli, Blyth-Richmond Investment Managers
Murray International aims to blend global diversification with a solid income stream. The yield is around 3.5 per cent.
Maffioli says: “I like Murray International’s focus on dependable cashflows and sensible valuations, rather than chasing the highest yield. It also isn’t tied to the UK market, so you’re spreading risk across regions and currencies.”
Day-to-day decisions now sit with Martin Connaghan and Samantha Fitzpatrick, but the approach remains consistent: sustainable income with long-term growth potential. If you reinvest the dividends, it can be a strong compounding option over time.
It charges fees of 0.5 per cent. It is up 36 per cent in the last year and up 60 per cent over five years.
Pantheon Infrastructure Plc
Jonathan Moyes, head of investment research, Wealth Club
Pantheon Infrastructure Plc aims to provide investors with some diversification away from global stock markets while providing the potential for attractive equity-like returns over the longer term.
The FTSE 250 trust co-invests alongside some of the world’s leading infrastructure managers. Its portfolio includes large-scale data centres, gas distribution networks, US renewable energy and storage developers, as well as one of Europe’s leading temperature-controlled logistics and transport businesses.
Moyes says: “These assets are prized for their mission-critical nature and long-term contracted revenue streams. Nonetheless, shares in Pantheon Infrastructure change hands at an attractive 13 per cent discount to net asset value.”
That means the shares in the fund are valued more highly than the actual fund, which means easy wins – if that discount narrows. Trusts’ valuations do not always do so, while others might trade at a premium – in other words, more than the sum of their parts.
Investors should note this is a high-risk investment and should form part of a diversified portfolio. The trust has total ongoing charges of 1.29 per cent. The fund is up 30 per cent in the last year, but is too new for a five-year view.
Depending on which investment platform you use, and like any other fund, there may also be share dealing costs, so look to minimise those where you can so they don’t eat into your long-term returns.
When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
[CinePlex360] Please moderate: “Meta’s lat
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