The UK Department of Business and Trade (DBT) rejected the recommendation of the British Office for the Protection of Trade Rights (TRA) regarding the tariff quota and decided to apply another measure, according to a letter from Jonathan Reynolds, the UK Trade Minister. on behalf of DBT and the President of the Board of Trade, Nick Baird, Chairman of TRA. According to the letter, the reason for this decision is to ensure the overall effectiveness of the UK's protective measures against domestic steel producers, while balancing the need to ensure the security of supplies to the UK market in accordance with traditional trade flows.

DBT has decided to increase the total supply volume. The tariff quota of each category has been increased by 0.1 percent, while a 15 percent residual quota limit for metal-coated sheet and a 20 percent residual quota limit for non-alloy and other alloy sheets and rebar are applied to ensure that UK imports from exporting countries more closely comply with traditional trade standards. both streams will enter into force on July 1, 2025. Initially, as SteelOrbis previously reported, TRA recommended introducing 40 percent restrictions for each specific country on imports of the three categories of steel under consideration.

In addition, some changes have been made to the allocation of tariff quotas in accordance with the TRA recommendation, including avoiding the provision of any unused quarterly quotas in the next quarter; preventing WTO members with a quota for a particular country from accessing the remaining quota in the last quarter; updating benefits for developing countries based on data on UK imports for the period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 and in accordance with the WTO Safeguards Agreement.

Gareth Stace, CEO of the UK Steel Trade Association, based in the UK, said: "These measures will reduce the pressure on steel imports from the US and the EU and prevent countries that flood international markets with unacceptably cheap steel from flooding the UK. The government made the right decision in response to a tough trade environment where subsidized imports undermine domestic steel production."

Steelorbis.com