UK to challenge EU over planned steel quota cuts
The UK business secretary, Peter Kyle, is due to raise concerns with the European Commission in Brussels over plans to sharply reduce tariff-free steel import quotas. The talks come as both the UK and the EU prepare new steel safeguards to take effect from 1 July. The dispute centres on how much steel can enter each market without tariffs, and on the risk that the two sides could end up restricting each other's exports at the same time.
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According to the supplied material, the EU plans to cut overall tariff-free imports from non-EU countries by 47% on 2024 levels from 1 July. On the UK side, provisional quotas for EU steel are also being set at very low levels, with industry figures warning that some categories would fall sharply. Eurofer, the European steel industry association, has already written to Maroš Šefčovič to complain that the UK is setting new quotas for the EU at "extreme low levels".
The figures cited in the row suggest the UK would receive only 9% of previous levels for hot coil imports, 4% for tin mill and 3% for merchant bars. Eurofer's director general, Axel Eggert, said the UK's provisional quotas would cut exports of organic coated products by 80%, while rebar steel would be down 45% and steel rails by 38%. UK steel industry sources say the British government's 60% reduction in quotas is flexible and could be changed if the EU reciprocates, while the EU quota is described as strictly capped at 50%.
The measures are being introduced on both sides of the Channel as a response to competition from China. But the row also reflects the post-Brexit reality that the UK must now design its own quota and tariff regime rather than rely on the EU's previous steel safeguards. That makes the current dispute more than a technical trade adjustment, because it affects access to two closely linked markets and could influence prices, sales volumes and industrial planning for steel producers.
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The supplied material says the EU's planned cuts have prompted warnings of "devastating" consequences from the UK steel industry. It also says several third countries, including the UK and Ukraine, are expressing displeasure at the changes. One EU diplomat is quoted as saying the quotas will bring economic costs for both sides, with slightly higher costs for the UK, while another EU source said lower tariff-free export limits for the UK were inevitable.
What happens next will depend on whether the Brussels meeting produces any sign of compromise before the 1 July start date. It remains unclear whether either side will adjust its quotas, or whether the dispute will harden into a wider trade confrontation. The main points to watch are whether the UK and EU align their safeguards, and whether the changes lead to retaliation or further lobbying from steel producers on both sides.
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