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EU officials said they would hike taxes on certain metal imports from the country to as high as 28.5 per cent to compensate for unfair practices carried out by Chinese firms.

Beijing has long stood accused of dumping steel - subsidising manufacturers so they can sell it at below production cost - on the global market to try and destabilise manufacturing industries in the West.

US president Donald Trump has already promised to take the Eastern giant to task and now the EU is following sit with tough measures it is hoped will protect steel working jobs in Europe.

Eurocrats said an eight-month investigation had uncovered clear evidence that certain corrosion-resistant steels being sold by Chinese firms were benefitting from unfair state subsidies.

They added that in response all such goods entering into the EU will now be subject to a rising scale of tariffs, from 17.2 per cent up to 28.5 per cent, to even up the market.

In a statement the EU Commission said: "It was provisionally concluded that the imposition of measures would contribute to the recovery of the European Union industry by allowing price increases enabling the industry as a whole to return to a profitable situation."

The state-owned Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that the new measures will affect exports by the Shougang Group, Shagang Group, Hesteel Group and various other companies.

It also carried a strong denial of the claims by officials in Beijing, who said they were unfair and unreasonable. Firms affected have up to 25 days to challenge the EU decision at a hearing.

The stand-off comes as Brussels looks to set an increasingly expansionist trade agenda after Brexit, with officials actively reviving deals with partners like Japan, Canada and Mercosur.

Europe looks set for a possible trade war with the US over Donald Trump's proposed regime of tariffs, also designed to combat Chinese dumping, which could badly affect European companies.

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British Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox delivers remarks on 'The Future of UK Trade Policy' at the American Enterprise Institute

Senior eurocrats including Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem has said the bloc is "making preparations" to retaliate in the event the US introduces new tariffs hitting EU products.

The high-ranking Swedish official said the EU would be unjustifiably hit by the tariffs, but Mr Trump has shown little sign of backing down as he looks to deliver on a key pledge to bring manufacturing back to the US rustbelt.

Brussels is also embroiled in a separate row with Washington over new sanctions on Russian energy companies which may impact on infrastructure projects taking place within the bloc.

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