300,000 European Steel Jobs Under Immediate Threat as Chinese Imports Force 50% Tariff Hike

The European steel trade body Eurometal warned that approximately 300,000 direct jobs in the steel industry are under immediate threat from subsidized Chinese imports. Broader European manufacturing faces severe exposure, with total at-risk employment estimated at over 13 million direct jobs and 65 million indirect jobs. The automotive supply sector anticipates losing roughly 350,000 jobs over the next five years due to a massive 35% cost disadvantage compared to Chinese competitors. In response to past safeguard failures, new 2025-2026 steel import quotas feature a 47% reduction, while tariffs above those quotas have been doubled to 50%. Exporters previously bypassed 2018 safeguards by routing products through third countries or shifting product categories to avoid protected classifications entirely. "A colonisation of European industry by Chinese component manufacturers." — Alexander Julius