U.S. steel tariffs spark EU trade fallout, cost billions in losses

The United States' 25-percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, effective since March 12, has severely impacted EU steel producers, while American consumers are being forced to foot the bill for the protectionist policy.

As a cornerstone of Europe's traditional industries and economic foundation, the steel sector reported staggering losses. Data from the European Steel Association (EUROFER) revealed that the U.S. is the second largest export market for EU steel producers, accounting for 16 percent of total steel exports in 2024. However, steel exports to America have already plummeted since the tariff implementation.

"We have lost one million tons. We are talking of a value of around about two billion euros (about 2.26 billion U.S. dollars) which we have lost, and of course that leads to capacity reduction and job losses in Europe," explained Axel Eggert, Director General of EUROFER said in an exclusive interview with China Central Television.

Eggert criticized U.S. measures, emphasizing that they go beyond mere trade disputes to present strategic challenges to Europe's industrial framework.

European industry leaders are pressing the EU for a decisive response, asserting that the tariffs not only undermine the U.S.' goal of revitalizing steel production but are poised to trigger unintended negative consequences.

"We are expecting measures by the European Union to support our industry. That needs to be a firm reaction. So this would have a huge impact on U.S. steel users as well because they depend on steel imports from the European Union. There are a number of grades and products the U.S. steel industry is not producing. The costs for the U.S. steel users will increase by 25 percent if they cannot resource from the U.S. domestic market. And that is worrying for U.S. steel consumers," Eggert said.

U.S. steel tariffs spark EU trade fallout, cost billions in losses

U.S. steel tariffs spark EU trade fallout, cost billions in losses

U.S. steel tariffs spark EU trade fallout, cost billions in losses

China's high-tech manufacturing, emerging services, and new forms of consumption gained momentum in May, supporting steady economic growth as employment and prices stayed broadly stable, official data showed Tuesday.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that production and supply improved steadily during this period, while the economy continued to move toward innovation-driven and quality-oriented growth.

In agriculture, summer grain production is in good shape this year and is expected to deliver a good harvest.

Industrial production also picked up, with value-added industrial output of enterprises above designated size rising 4.5 percent year-on-year, 0.4 percentage points faster than in April.

The industrial sector continued to move up the value chain, with faster progress in smart, green and integrated manufacturing. In the first five months of the year, high-tech manufacturing contributed nearly 40 percent of overall industrial growth, pointing to stronger industrial competitiveness.

The services sector also expanded steadily. China's services production index rose 4.4 percent year on year in May, accelerating from the previous month, with emerging services such as information transmission, software and information technology maintaining solid growth.

Consumption continued to shift toward higher-quality demand. From January to May, services retail sales increased 5.4 percent, as demand for services was further released. Online, digital and green consumption became new growth points.

The job market remained generally stable, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.1 percent in May, down 0.1 percentage points from April.

China's economy remains steady in May as manufacturing, services drive growth