Ministers have tightened a steel safeguards regime in order to fend off cheap imports.
The Department for Business and Trade rejected a trade watchdog’s recommended path for restricting the flow of cheap steel from abroad, opting for stronger restraints.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the Government was “unapologetic in our support for the UK steel sector – it underpins Britain’s industrial strength, our national security, and our status as a global power”.
Under the new regime, imports of certain categories of steel – including sheet metal and steel bars – will not be allowed to grow beyond “traditional” trade flows.
Steel products imported from Vietnam, South Korea and Algeria will be among those affected by the change, which is aimed at protecting UK steel from unsustainably cheap import prices.
Mr Reynolds added: “These measures back our producers and the thousands of families and communities who rely on steel production in the UK.
“We’ve taken decisive action to protect the UK market and level the playing field, and we’ll go further with our new steel strategy to build a stronger, more competitive future for British steel making central to our plan for change.”
Mr Reynolds did however agree with calls from the Trade Remedies Authority to limit countries from carrying over quarterly trade quotas, which would allow them to import more steel in the future after a shortfall.
The Business Secretary’s moves to protect British steel comes at a fraught time for the domestic industry.
The Government has effectively taken over the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe from its Chinese owner Jingye, and has secured a supply of raw materials to maintain production for the foreseeable future.
However, the threat of a rise in US tariffs on steel products is looming.
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer agreed in the UK-US trade deal that steel would be one of the areas protected from American tariffs.
No deal has yet been finalised to bring down the current 25% tariff on UK steel products to 0%, and if one is not agreed by July 9, British steel could face a 50% levy from the US.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Reynolds suggested the negotiations were now being held alongside efforts to prevent the UK from being hit by the US president’s so-called reciprocal tariffs.
The Business Secretary said: “I can assure you we’re doing everything we can to get a deal as part of the sectoral tariffs.
“It relates to the conversations we are having about the reciprocal tariffs, the 10%.
“It’s all part of one negotiation with the US.”
The negotiations are “complex”, Mr Reynolds said, adding that sticking points were around the rules of origin, as some steel products are brought into the UK from other countries to be finished.
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