EU steel 'action plan' due March 19 as US tariffs loom

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday the release of an "action plan" on March 19 to support Europe's steel sector as it faces "critical challenges" made more urgent by the threat of US tariffs.

Industry group Eurofer has warned European steel faces "irreversible decline" unless the bloc takes "immediate action" including trade protections and ensuring affordable clean energy supplies.

Von der Leyen and EU industry chief Stephane Sejourne on Tuesday hosted representatives of Eurofer along with steel groups including ArcelorMittal, ThyssenKrupp and Tata Steel to launch a "dialogue" on the sector.


"Steel is everywhere, from wind power to defence," von der Leyen said in a statement. "But European steelmakers are at a crossroads, facing the challenges of necessary decarbonisation and partly unfair global competition."

The plan to be presented by Sejourne will address how to make clean steel production commercially viable, and how to respond to "unfair and unjustified trading practices," the statement said.

The European steel industry currently employs more than 300,000 people -- but has lost almost 100,000 jobs in the past 15 years.

Steel has already been singled out for help under a new "Clean Industrial Deal" aimed at ensuring affordable clean energy supplies for key EU sectors.

And the bloc has vowed to retaliate with firm and proportionate countermeasures to US President Donald Trump's 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, set to take effect from March 12.