The EU’s Steel Madness: Britain’s About to Get Bashed, and Westminster’s Still Polishing Its PowerPoint
Now the European Union, that bastion of rules, regulations and self-righteousness, looks set to out-Trump Trump.
Donald Trump was supposed to be the world’s tariff terrorist, the man who waged war on global trade one stubby tweet at a time.
But now the European Union, that bastion of rules, regulations and self-righteousness, looks set to out-Trump Trump
They’re gearing up to slap punitive tariffs on imported steel, tighten quotas, and throw up yet more barriers to the open market, all in the name of “defending European industry.”
The result? The West Midlands is about to take one hell of a kicking.
The Beating Heart of British Steelcraft
We don’t smelt much anymore, the old furnaces are cold. But the West Midlands still shapes the nation’s steel story.
We’re the region that rolls, presses, welds and galvanises. We make the stuff that makes the country move:
Panels and pressings for Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota and the wider automotive network.
Forgings and components for defence and aerospace.
Architectural frames, beams and fittings that hold up Britain’s new schools, hospitals and civic buildings.
Workshops across Walsall, Smethwick and Wolverhampton where steel is turned, formed and fettled into the tools of modern life.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s essential, a chain of skill and sweat that connects every foundry, fabricator and fitter in the region.
Trump, Tariffs and the Original Bombshell
As Professor Dave Bailey, an internationally distinguished economist at the University of Birmingham, reminds me: when Trump dropped his tariff bomb, the UK’s half-baked “deal” with Washington was sold as a Brexit bonus.
“The EU was more badly affected,” he says. “In other words, our pile of trouble was smaller than theirs. But the so-called ‘steel deal’ with the US never actually materialised. Our steel makers were hammered.”
He’s right, the UK didn’t dodge the shrapnel; it just copped it later. And now, history’s repeating itself with Brussels pulling the trigger.
When Brussels Sneezes, the Black Country Catches Pneumonia
The EU’s new plan is simple enough: wall itself off and protect its foundational industries. Or, as Bailey puts it:
“The EU will defend itself on foundational industries, and UK steel is out in the cold again.”
Once Brussels shuts its doors, the displaced steel doesn’t vanish, it comes hunting for new buyers. And the UK, with its porous import system, will be the easiest target.
That means cheap stock flooding in, home processors squeezed to the margins, and our finishing firms gasping for air between rising input costs and vanishing export routes.
The Mad Cure: Copying the Madness
Here’s the irony. To survive, Britain might have to copy the EU’s bad idea, mirror their tariffs, block the imports, and close our own doors before the market collapses.
It’s ludicrous. But it might also be the only way to stop the global surplus from crushing what’s left of our domestic industry.
Bailey calls it bluntly:
“Steel faces a double whammy. This could be utterly catastrophic for UK steel unless the government negotiates exemptions with the EU, gets energy costs down quicker than in its so-called industrial strategy, and insists on UK green steel in public projects. Other countries do it, why can’t we?”
That’s not ideology, that’s common sense with a Midlands accent.
Whitehall’s Record: All Talk, No Torque
If you’re expecting the government to leap into action, don’t hold your breath. Look how they handled the Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack, weeks of confused statements, crossed wires and academic waffle.
This lot couldn’t run a celebration in a brewery, never mind an industrial policy. They’re addicted to “strategy frameworks” and “cross-departmental task forces” while the foundries fall silent and the machine shops empty.
The Bottom Line
The West Midlands is the backbone of Britain’s real economy. When the EU sneezes, we get pneumonia. When Westminster fumbles, we lose factories.
If ministers don’t act, and fast, the region’s steel shapers and finishers will find themselves crushed between Brussels’ protectionism and Whitehall’s paralysis.
It’s res ipsa loquitur, the thing speaks for itself.