Trump's tariffs will make European steel shed capacity, jobs, warns industry leader

​​​​​​​By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) – The head of the European Steel Association said Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will worsen the situation of the European steel industry.

Emphasizing that the US is the second-largest export market for EU steel producers, Henrik Adam said 16% of EU steel exports last year were to the US, and the loss of a significant portion of the exports cannot be compensated by exports to other markets.

"If all product exemptions and TRQs (tariff rate quotas) are now removed, the EU could lose up to 3.7 million tonnes of steel exports to the US," Adam said in a statement.

"Additionally, this move risks causing new, significant trade flow deviations. In 2024, the U.S. imported about 23 million tonnes of steel products from third countries other than the EU. These volumes are now likely to be massively diverted into the European market."

Adam said there is overcapacity in the global steel market, with steel entering the EU market at very cheap prices, mostly from Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East, leading to the deindustrialization of Europe.

Noting that the EU steel industry has already closed 9 million tons of capacity in 2024 and laid off more than 18,000 workers, Adam said Trump's decision will only make things worse.

Adam said the EU needs to take urgent steps to protect the European steel industry and stressed the importance of updating EU market protection measures in line with commercial conditions.​​​​​​​