Changes in the quota system for steel imports from the UK are expected amid a negative industry reaction.
The British Steel Association UK Steel said this week that changes to measures to set temporary quotas for steel imports in the UK are highly likely ahead of the policy's entry into force on July 1, 2026.
In March, the UK government unveiled a massive support package for its steel sector, combining a long-term industrial strategy aimed at increasing domestic production and protecting local supply chains with a stricter import quota system.
Under import measures introduced since July, overall steel import quota levels will be reduced by 60% compared to current agreements, and steel imported into the UK above these levels will be subject to a 50% tariff, the UK government announced on March 19.
. The tariff applies "to imported steel products that can be manufactured in the UK," the report says.
Abandoning the processing industry
However, the proposed regulation has attracted significant opposition from the UK steel refining industry, including shareholders, refiners and traders, who claim that the policy will endanger their business, as Fastmarkets reported in early April.
The UK has domestic production facilities for a number of steel grades. These include: rails and wire rod produced in an oxygen converter furnace in Scunthorpe, northeast England; rebar produced in an electric arc furnace using scrap metal in Cardiff, Wales; and hot-rolled coils produced at a semi-finished products rolling plant in Port Talbot, Wales.
However, the company currently does not produce a number of special grades of steel due to a lack of local capacity and the conservation of Liberty Speciality Steel UK (SSUK) in Yorkshire.
Following industry pressure, the government introduced a transitional exemption in the UK on June 2. New trade measures have been introduced, according to which the relevant goods under contract until March 14, 2026, will be fully exempt from 50% off-quota duty for the period from July and from September 1, 30, 2026.
But the tweak did nothing to quell the protest against stricter quotas, and market participants further escalated their objections this week following a fire on June 3 that damaged a major processing line at Tata Port Talbot, which is expected to hamper local shipments of rolled steel.
UK Steel, which represents the interests of leading British steel producers who would benefit from increased import protection, agreed that the quota system could be completely changed, and this was the latest twist in the fate of the policy.
"Steel quota numbers published