As the Trump administration introduces 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to the US, new data from Eurostat has revealed that the European Union exported iron, steel and related articles worth €77.8 billion in 2024.
Some €5.4 billion worth of iron and steel was exported to the United States, making it the EU’s second-biggest export market after Türkiye (€6.2 billion).
Other key export markets for EU iron and steel included the United Kingdom (€4.0 billion), Switzerland (€2.1 billion) and Mexico (€1.7 billion).
Between 2019 and 2024, EU exports of iron and steel to the US rose by 51.1%, while exports to Mexico were up 54.1%.
Iron and steel articles
As regards iron and steel articles, such as construction materials and automotive and household items, the United States was the EU’s biggest export market, with €8 billion worth of articles exported across the Atlantic.
This marked a 45.1% increase since 2019, the data showed.
Other main export markets for iron and steel articles in 2024 included the United Kingdom (€6.3 billion), Switzerland (€3.5 billion), Norway (€2.9 billion) and China (€2.8 billion).
Iron and steel imports
In terms of imports, meanwhile, India was the key partner for the EU, with €3.9 billion worth of iron and steel imports in 2024, followed by Korea (€3.6 billion), Türkiye (€3.5 billion), China (€3.5 billion) and the United Kingdom (€3.2 billion).
Imports from India rose by 89.2% between 2019 and 2024, while imports from Korea were up 43%, Eurostat‘s data showed.
China was the biggest market for imports of iron and steel articles, meanwhile, accounting for €12.5 billion, or 37.3% of the total. Read more here.
Analyst comment
Commenting on the Trump administration’s most recent tariff introduction, Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said, “Donald Trump keeps moving the goal post and investors are getting fed up. Metal tariffs are today’s special on the menu and they’ve been a major catalyst for many of America’s trading partners to retaliate with tariffs on other goods.
“Trump is essentially sticking with the same message: tariffs make goods imported into the US more expensive and that will drive Americans to buy more goods domestically. Critics say it’s not that simple and that tariffs will ultimately raise prices for consumers and businesses in the US and hurt the economy.”
