UK to challenge EU over ‘devastating’ plans for new tariff-free steel import quotas

The UK business secretary, Peter Kyle, is to raise concerns about EU plans to dramatically reduce tariff-free imports of British steel with its trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, in Brussels on Friday. The UK steel industry has previously warned of “devastating” consequences from the new quota system being planned by the EU, which will cut overall tariff-free imports from non-EU countries by 47% on 2024 levels from 1 July. Kyle’s meeting comes as industry leaders on the EU side worry about retaliatory measures by the UK affecting their own sales to Britain. The UK was part of the EU’s previous steel safeguards regime but after Brexit must design its own quota and tariff regime, also for 1 July. European Steel Association Eurofer, the EU trade industry body, has already written to Šefčovič to protest that the “UK is setting new quotas for the EU at extreme low levels” with the EU only getting 9% of its previous levels of hot coil imports, 4% of tin mill, and 3% of merchant bars. In his letter, the Eurofer director general, Axel Eggert, said that the UK’s provisional quotas would slash their exports of organic coated products by 80% with rebar steel down 45% and steel rails down 38%. The safeguards are being introduced on both sides of the Channel as an attempt to protect their industries from competition from China. …