Minister for Trade (Sir ): The Government is today
announcing the final details of the new steel trade measure
coming into effect on 1 July 2026, a cornerstone policy of the
UK's steel strategy, and a further example of delivery on our
Modern Industrial Strategy, which charts a strategic course that
allows business to make long-term decisions and focus on creating
wealth and prosperity.
Steel overcapacity continues to distort markets, drive down
prices and threaten the viability of our already fragile domestic
steelmaking sector. UK steel production has more than halved in
the last decade. Other countries are acting, including the US,
Canada and the EU, with the EU's measure also coming into force
on 1 July 2026. This Government cannot, and will not, jeopardise
domestic steelmaking given its importance to critical national
infrastructure and defence. We must act now to secure its future.
Since our 19 March announcement, we have listened to stakeholders
across the steel supply chain, including producers and downstream
users, and have adjusted the steel trade measure's product scope
and quota volumes. We have also engaged closely with the EU and
agreed an approach that reflects the UK and EU's highly
interconnected supply chains. This will provide stability for
UK-EU steel trade from 1 July, while we continue to work together
to strengthen UK-EU steel trade longer term.
We recognise that this will create changes to trade flows
including with some of our closest trading partners. We want to
reassure them that the UK remains committed to our international
obligations and to constructive engagement on our steel measure.
We recognise that this is a challenging time for steel industries
globally, and that's why we will continue to prioritise working
with partners to tackle overcapacity.
From 1 July 2026, we will now limit tariff-free steel imports and
reduce overall quota volumes by 51% compared to the Steel
Safeguard, protecting domestic producers while maintaining
continuity of supply for downstream users, including the
automotive, construction and defence sectors. The overall quota
volume will be 3.2mt, an increase of 21% compared to our
previously published provisional volumes. We have also removed 11
product codes, where new information confirmed there was no UK
production, and added 2 codes where there is evidence of
production. Detailed information on quotas will be published on
GOV.UK.
Where quotas are filled, imports above these levels will face a
50% tariff. The measure will apply only to products that can be
made in the UK. In a limited number of cases, technical
constraints mean product codes cannot be cleanly separated, with
some codes covering both UK-produced and non-UK-produced grades
and sizes of products. In these instances, quotas have been
designed to allow sufficient imports, ensuring continued
availability for UK users without imposing unnecessary additional
costs.
We will continue to engage closely with industry across the
supply chain. We will actively monitor implementation of the
measure to ensure it operates as intended, and we will continue
to engage with businesses. We will also review the measure after
twelve months, to ensure it remains effective and that the
balance is right for industry. To ease potential short-term
impacts, a transitional arrangement will apply whereby goods
under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July
and 30 September 2026 will not face the 50% tariff or count
towards quota volumes in the first quarter. We have provided
technical guidance on these arrangements and on quota
administration, including how unused quota volumes will rollover'
across quarters within the same quota year.
Specific arrangements will be in place to ensure that steel can
flow to Northern Ireland. The Government will continue to provide
guidance and support traders moving goods from Great Britain to
Northern Ireland through the Trader Support Service and work
closely with the EU to ensure these arrangements operate
effectively in practice.
In parallel, the UK has launched an Article XXVIII process at the
WTO to permanently raise the maximum Most Favoured Nation (MFN)
steel tariffs that we can apply to steel imports. We will shortly
confirm Members' rights and expect to begin negotiations in the
autumn. This process is separate to the new steel trade measure
and will create the necessary policy space to ensure the sector
has sufficient tariff protection in the long term.
This Government is acting now to secure the future of the UK
steel industry. We are determined that steel will remain at the
heart of Britain's future.
