Targeting Beijing! The EU Sharply Raises Import Tariffs on Steel

To avoid the impact of competition from cheap imported Chinese steel, the European Union raised steel tariffs on September 7, 2025. (Video screenshot)

[People News] On September 7, the European Union followed former U.S. President Trump’s tariff strategy by raising import tariffs on steel by 100%–150% and cutting import quotas in order to protect the EU’s struggling steel industry from the impact of cheap Chinese steel imports. This outcome is reportedly connected to Xi Jinping’s arrogant and ignorant diplomatic behavior, which has angered the EU.

According to the Liberty Times, on September 7, the European Commission announced a proposal to double import steel tariffs to 50% and to cut pre-tariff import volumes by nearly half. European Commission Vice President for Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

“Europe’s steel industry is on the verge of collapse. We are protecting it so that it can invest, decarbonize, and regain competitiveness. But we are not engaging in Trump-style politics.”

However, the EU’s strategy mirrors Trump’s approach. Trump previously doubled tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products to 50% to block cheap Chinese imports. Canada has also adopted similar measures. China currently produces more than half of the world’s steel.

Once approved by EU member states and the European Parliament, this proposal will permanently replace the existing safeguard measures. The current policy imposes a 25% tariff on steel products exceeding established import quotas, but it is set to expire next year.

According to Epoch Times columnist Wang He, on July 24, Xi Jinping met in Beijing with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Costa and von der Leyen were attending the 25th China–EU Leaders’ Meeting. By diplomatic convention, the summit should have taken place in Europe, but the CCP insisted on holding it in Beijing and shortened the meeting to just one day. During the talks, Xi Jinping boldly declared that “decoupling and supply-chain disruption will only isolate oneself” and called for strengthening China–EU communication and cooperation. The EU side responded that if the CCP failed to offer reciprocal measures, it might reduce openness to Chinese imports.

Wang He noted that both the CCP and the EU have faced tariff pressure from the Trump administration. The CCP has long sought to sow discord between Europe and the U.S. and to draw the EU closer to Beijing, but due to its deep-seated contempt for Europe, this meeting carried an air of arrogance and disregard for EU concerns. As a result, the already fragile mutual trust between China and the EU sank to a new low. Von der Leyen even remarked that China–EU relations had reached a “turning point”, stressing that “it is crucial for both sides to face each other’s concerns seriously.”

Wang concluded that the CCP’s arrogance — thinking that China was rising while Europe was declining and could thus be manipulated — backfired. The CCP’s foolish and heavy-handed EU policy pushed the EU closer to the United States, leading to a U.S.–EU trade agreement that finally averted a tariff war. △