UK to Halve Tariff-Free Steel Imports to Counter Cheap Chinese Metal
The UK's New Steel Import Safeguards
The UK government will halve the amount of tariff-free steel imports allowed in an attempt to counter a global oversupply of cheap Chinese metal and boost its beleaguered local industry.
Details of the New Tariffs and Quotas
New “safeguards” will be introduced on 1 July and will coincide with similar new limits being introduced by the EU for the same purposes. At the same time, tariffs on steel imports above the duty-free quotas will be doubled to 50% of the product’s value.
The Data Analysis
Under the new rules, the existing quota of tariff-free steel allowed into the UK will be reduced by 51%, less than the 60% reduction proposed in March. That means only 3.2m tonnes can be imported duty-free into Britain in future.
- Existing quota: reduced by 51%
- New quota: 3.2m tonnes
- Tariffs on imports above quota: doubled to 50%
The Impact Analysis
UK Steel, the industry trade body in the UK, has said previously that without these dramatic measures the British industry faced an “existential threat”. However, steel users in the UK had protested that the quotas risked raising prices of many products that were not available from Britain’s few remaining furnaces.
The Prediction
The government will also exempt manufacturers using 11 specific types of steel from tariffs after pleas from industry that import duties would cripple them as no local alternative supply exists. Business secretary Peter Kyle said: “This steel trade measure – including today’s finalised quota volumes – has been designed to both protect UK steel making from global overcapacity, while giving businesses across the supply chain the certainty they need.”