Commission touts action plan for steel industry faced with US tariff wall

The European Commission will publish an action plan to deal with unfair trade measures imposed on the steel sector by international competitors, and revisit import limits set during the steel trade spat which began during the last Trump administration, which are due to end in June 2026, the executive announced on Tuesday. 

“European steelmakers are at a crossroads,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a meeting with steel industry representatives, “facing the challenges of necessary decarbonisation and partly unfair global competition.” She said that the Commission aims to present a plan to help the sector “thrive globally”, adding: “We join forces to make a strong business case for steel made in Europe."

The action plan is slated to be presented by Commission vice-president Stéphane Séjourné on 19 March, just days after the likely date of entry into force – 12 March - of the 25% tariffs announced by Donald Trump on steel and aluminium imports into the US.

The Commission has promised to respond “firmly” and “immediately” to the US measures. The Commission will take action once it has been notified of the US tariffs, an EU official told Euronews. A list of American products to be targeted by European countermeasures has already been drawn up. The next step will be “a political decision”, another EU official told Euronews, saying the issue is being directly handled by von der Leyen’s cabinet.

The Commission promised on Tuesday to review safeguard measures limiting steel imports into the bloc, which have been reviewed several times since 2018, but cannot be extended beyond eight years.

In June 2024, it decided renewed these measures again citing global overcapacities – especially emanating from China – which