The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose a 25% tariff on steel imports will worsen the situation in the European steel industry, exacerbating market issues, said Henrik Adam, president of the European Steel Association (Eurofer).
According to Adam, this decision represents a radical escalation of the trade war that began during Trump's first term as president.
As reported, Trump signed an order to impose an additional 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. He is terminating agreements with several partners (including European Union countries) that provided them with special trade conditions, effective March 12. Thus, the tariffs announced by Trump will take effect on that date.
Adam noted that European steel shipments to the U.S. had already decreased by over 1 million tons per year, despite the existing agreements. Now, the EU could lose up to 3.7 million tons of exported steel to the U.S., warns the head of Eurofer.
The U.S. is the second-largest market for European steel producers, accounting for 16% of all steel exports from the EU in 2024.
"The loss of a significant volume of this export cannot be compensated by shipments to other markets," Adam stated in a release published on the Eurofer website.
He also pointed out that Trump's decision will lead to substantial changes in trade flows. In 2024, the U.S. imported about 23 million tons of steel products from countries outside the EU. These volumes are likely to be redirected to the European market, according to the head of Eurofer.