UK confirms reduction of import quotas by 51%
The UK government has confirmed its plan to reduce duty-free steel imports by 51% as part of new trade protection measures that will be introduced on July 1.
The details published today (June 25) indicate a reduction in tariff quotas (TRQ), which are less severe than the 60% cuts proposed by the Ministry of Business and Trade (DBT) in March. Overall, prices for services are 21% higher than these preliminary figures, which has caused intense lobbying by British distributors and manufacturers in recent months.
British Trade Minister Chris Bryant confirmed the doubling of tariffs exceeding quotas under current protective measures to 50% in a statement released today and insisted that the new measures would apply "only to goods that can be produced in the UK."
The UK government said it had removed 11 commodity codes from its new trade protection regime to reflect feedback from participants in the UK steel market. Products were excluded from category 14 (stainless bars and light profiles), category 26 (other welded pipes) and category 28 (non-alloy wire). The regime has also added two new codes in categories 12A (light alloy workpieces and light sections) and 12B (non-alloy workpieces and light sections).
Major changes in tariffs
Among the key changes made to the preliminary sales volumes in the UK is a marked reduction in prices for hot-rolled coils in the EU. The new annual duty-free shipments to the EU are almost 450% higher than the preliminary shipments in March and amount to 375,000 tons. However, the EU quota for hot-dip galvanizing coils has been reduced. The production of metal-coated rolled products of category 4 TRQ decreased from 634,773 tons to 510,273 tons per year.
India's quota for hot-rolled coils has also been increased from 12,405 tons to 33,456 tons per year. At the same time, Turkey and Taiwan lost their national quotas for hot-rolled coils. Imports from these countries will now be registered in the "residual" category in the UK, which amounts to 49,763 tons per year.
In May, MEPs discussed the preliminary amounts of steel quotas in the UK in a special edition of the podcast "Talking about Steel", entitled "Changing the structure of steel imports in the UK: the debate between UK Steel and ISTA". A 98% ISTA President Godfrey Watt highlighted among the key issues the proposal to reduce tariffs for the services of shopping bars. Official restrictions confirm a significant reduction in the annual restrictions provided for by the current protective measures. However, the preliminary volumes, suggesting a limit of less than 7,000 tons, have been increased.