The US imposition of blanket 25% steel import tariffs will also involve the termination effective 12 March of exemption and duty-free quota agreements with trading partners such as Brazil and the EU. The latter says it plans to implement “firm” countermeasures.

The temporary duty exemption for Ukraine will also be terminated from 12 March, Kallanish notes.

The tariffs were announced officially late on Monday.

In a statement, the White House says the “benefits of this temporary [Ukraine] exemption have accrued primarily to producers in EU member countries, which have significantly increased duty-free exports to the US market of steel articles processed from Ukrainian semi-finished steel.”

Since 2021, imports from Ukraine have remained steady at 0.5% of total US imports, while imports from the EU have increased to 14.8%, it adds.

Ukraine has seen its two largest steelworks, Azovstal and Ilyich, taken out of action due to Russia’s invasion. To compensate, main domestic steelmaker Metinvest has been rolling semi-finished steel at its EU facilities in Italy and Bulgaria.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded by saying she “deeply regrets” the US tariff imposition. “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered – they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures,” she notes. “The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests. We will protect our workers, businesses and consumers.”

European steelmakers’ association Eurofer meanwhile says the EU could lose up to 3.7 million tonnes of steel exports to the US as a result of exemptions and quotas being removed (see separate story). Despite these exemptions, EU steel imports into the US decreased by over 1m t/year, the association adds.

The EU exported 3.413mt of HS chapter 72 iron and steel products – which include scrap – to the US in January-November 2024, exceeding the full-year 2023 total of 3.399mt, according to Eurostat. Except for the Covid and Covid rebound years of 2020 and 2021, annual shipments since 2019 have hovered at around 3.4mt and saw no significant impact from the duty free quota agreement, effective 1 January 2022.

Downstream steel derivative products, except those processed from steel articles that were melted and poured in the US, will also be subject to a 25% import duty in the US. For any derivative article not under chapter 73, the duty will apply only to the steel content of the article. The importer must provide customs with any information necessary to identify the steel content used.

Imports of products such as fabricated structural steel and prestressed concrete strand have increased significantly, eroding the US domestic industry’s customer base, the White House notice claims.