The European Union is preparing to sharply increase tariffs and cut import quotas on foreign steel in a move aimed at protecting its struggling industry from low-cost Chinese competition.

According to a proposal set to be unveiled on Tuesday, the European Commission will recommend doubling levies on steel imports to 50% and nearly halving the quota volumes allowed before tariffs take effect.

The measures, if approved by EU member states and the European Parliament, would replace the bloc’s current safeguard scheme, which imposes 25% duties beyond fixed import limits, due to expire next year.

“The European steel industry was on the verge of collapse — we are protecting it so that it can invest, decarbonise, and become competitive again,” said EU industry chief Stephane Séjourné. “We’re not doing Trump-style politics,” he told reporters ahead of presenting the plan in Strasbourg. However, the strategy closely resembles the tariff approach adopted by former US President Donald Trump, who imposed 50% duties on Chinese metals.

Séjourné, who will unveil the proposal alongside EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, said Europe’s economic sovereignty was at stake, as it remains the only major market still open to steel imports.

The bloc’s trade arm is also pursuing talks with Washington to coordinate action on Chinese steel overcapacity. Šefčovič said both the EU and the US face similar challenges from a glut of cheap metals that undermine domestic producers.

In parallel with the tariff plan, Brussels is pushing for a “metals alliance” with the United States to insulate both economies from industrial oversupply.